Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0003-7512-2395
Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
4-2026
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
Reader 1
Professor Andrew Sinclair
Reader 2
Professor Aseema Sinha
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2026 Tamoy B Pitt
Abstract
This thesis examines Jamaica’s persistent underdevelopment through Martha Nussbaum's normative application of the capabilities approach as per her conception in Creating Capabilities. Through this approach, the paper will argue that Jamaica’s underdevelopment is a result of the failure of its domestic institutions to provide all citizens with the substantive freedoms and capabilities necessary to live lives of dignity. Originally detailed by Amartya Sen in his book Development as Freedom, the capabilities approach posits freedom as both the means and ends to development while rejecting contemporary approaches to development such as GDP, Utilitarianism, or Rawlsian resource-based approaches as insufficient frameworks for improving individuals capabilities – what one is able to do and to be. The thesis then adopts Nussbaum’s ten central capabilities as the social minimum for development and necessary conditions for social justice and positions it as the preconditions for equitable development. The analysis situates Jamaica’s institutional stagnation within the framework of Limited Access Orders, tracing path dependency from its origins as one of Britain’s most extractive colonies to its present condition in which countries such as the United States and institutions such as the IMF has undermined Jamaica’s capacity to self-determine its own development and capability achievement. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of Jamaica’s capability achievements or lack thereof and how the preconditions for said capabilities were positively or negatively impacted by domestic or foreign actors.
Recommended Citation
Pitt, Tamoy, "The Jamaica That Dreams: A Normative Application of Developmental Theory" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4157.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4157
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Growth and Development Commons, International Relations Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons
