Disablement, Oppression, and the Political Economy

Abstract

Any struggle for freedom from oppression has something in common with Marxism. Marx's contribution to history was to pinpoint the primary (but not the only) cause of oppression as economic. The capitalist class exploits wage earners for profit to the detriment of the working class. A primary source of oppression of disabled persons (those who could work with a reasonable accommodation) is their exclusion from capitalist exploitation. Many disabled persons are unemployed or underemployed against their will. The social condition of disablement is reproduced by oppressive social relations exercised through the mode of production. Industrial capitalism imposed disablement upon those non-conforming bodies deemed less or not exploitable by the owners of the means of production. The prevailing rate of the exploitation of labor determines who is “disabled” and who is not. This analysis posits that capitalism (and social policy under capitalism) is detrimental to disabled persons whether they are workers, would-be workers, or people who are unable to work. © 2001, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.