 Adopting this approach, then, we would elaborate the concept of the social minimum by agreeing on a specific list of capabilities, such as that above, as necessary to a “minimally decent life”, and by working out the kinds and levels of resources that people need to have these capabilities to an adequate extent. The above list is clearly pitched at a high level of generality, and so it will make sense in applying this approach to consider how the various capabilities are typically manifested in particular national societies. At the same time, such a list arguably provides a safeguard against excessive cultural relativism in thinking about the social minimum. If we can see no way in which a given capability on the list is adequately satisfied for a given group, then we must conclude that the society is denying these people the opportunity to lead a “minimally decent life”. The idea of the social minimum can in this way have some critical bite in evaluating existing social arrangements.