Nussbaum replaces abstract measures of welfare with an account of what persons are substantively able to do and become. Her capabilities approach refuses to identify justice with income, utility, declared preference or formal rights, since deprivation can reshape aspiration and legal permission may coexist with material incapacity. The book’s iconic contribution is its defence of a universal threshold of central human capabilities while retaining sensitivity to cultural plurality, individual choice and the concrete circumstances of women’s lives. Methodologically, Nussbaum combines philosophical argument, constitutional reasoning and situated narratives, especially from India, to test whether institutions secure bodily integrity, political participation, education, affiliation and practical reason. Her critique of adaptive preferences is crucial: satisfaction cannot validate arrangements that have trained people not to desire unavailable freedoms. The work bridges feminist philosophy, development economics and public policy by converting dignity from an abstract moral status into a set of institutional conditions that make agency practically executable.