ABSTRACT
Choice is specified as exercised by persons in social settings. This chapter introduces the concept of arenas between resources and outcomes and offers a specification of the circumstances of choice as a function of personal resources and arena options. It draws a distinction between preferences and expectations and with the help of that distinction show that welfarist approaches do not have a special quality above non-welfarist approaches of respecting preferences. The chapter also offers a typology of approaches to the measurement of well-being and with the help of this typology show that non-welfarist measurement can be organized so as to be neutral with regard to preferences. It suggests that well-being can be measured with 'objective' data without violating the 'subjective' quality of the concept. The chapter demonstrates that non-welfarist/non-dictatorial approaches to well-being are possible. The most powerful non-welfarist approaches in the literature are in terms of goods, resources, and more recently capabilities.
