Eighteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

The paper analyzes objetive 8 of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development on decent work, conditional on economic growth, as collected from the indicators of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in Spain. It is an exploratory investigation of the possible consequences of this discourse on negative and positive freedoms. Negative freedom relative to the removal of restrictions on the effective decision making of individuals. The positive refers to the existing internal and external opportunities for personal autonomy. These reflections lead to highlighting the need for an operational change in the conception of economic development, expanding to other dimensions of human development that go beyond the economic. A conception of economic development that expands freedoms would positively affect individual freedoms. Positive freedom is related to Sen´s concept of capability, defined as an aspect of freedom that occurs when there are substantive opportunities for individuals to become and do what they consider important in their lives. The objective is also analyzed from Foucault´s contributions on political rationality, as a form of government that limits freedoms. Lastly, collective capabilities are vindicated, mainly among the most vulnerable, as a necessary preamble to broaden individual capabilities and overcome the limitations of the labor market.