From Claimant to Contributor: How Humanist Entrepreneurship Supports Social Inclusion and Effective Rehabilitation

Abstract

The gap between rich and poor grows inexorably wider not through lack of resources, so much as a failure in philosophy (Corcoran & Carr, 2019). Economic policy and society objectify ex-offenders building almost insurmountable barriers to their reintegration into society. High levels of recidivism are inevitable if employment prospects are no better than sub-Saharan Africa. Through the lens of Amartya Sen’s “Capability Approach”, which challenges economic orthodoxy, “critical pedagogy”, which argues for a more learner empowered approach and “what works in rehabilitation” literature, this article examines Phoenix, a highly successful programme that rehabilitates ex-offenders and the long-term unemployed through enterprise.