Ageism, social and economic freedoms in the light of Amartya Sen's capability approach

The objective of this study is to evaluate the economic and social freedoms of older adults considering Amartya Sen's capability approach, identifying how ageism in organizational practices, public policies, and public services impacts access to work, healthcare, continuing education, and community participation, and to propose policy guidelines capable of transforming formal rights into substantive freedoms. A qualitative approach was adopted, based on a literature review on the capability approach, ageism, and social policies, an analysis of normative documents, and a jurisprudential case study that illustrates the role of ageism in the labor market. The analysis showed that: organizational practices such as age-based filtering, selective dismissals, and lack of retraining programs reduce the conversion of human capital into decent employment and income; institutional ageism in healthcare results in undertreatment, late diagnoses, and care guided by stereotypes, harming functional capacity and social participation; insufficient provision of continuing education and accessibility barriers limit lifelong learning; deficits in urban infrastructure and digital exclusion impede participation in community spaces; and the existence of protective norms does not guarantee effectiveness without oversight, active policies, and cultural changes. It is concluded that ensuring substantive freedoms for older adults requires a multi-sectoral strategy that combines effective legal protection, proactive public policies, environmental adaptations, and digital inclusion, in addition to symbolic actions to deconstruct ageism.