Embedded Files
Introduction
Introduction
The current administration's attacks on social safety nets threaten disabled people's basic survival. But economic oppression of disabled people isn't new - it's built into capitalism itself, which requires some people to be labeled "unproductive" to justify exploitation of others. This module examines how economic systems target disabled people while exploring alternative financial models based on interdependence rather than individual productivity.
Learning Intentions: Understand how economic policies target disabled people, explore mutual aid, and analyze the relationship between capitalism and disability oppression.
Content
Content
Core Content (Essential Reading/Viewing)
Core Content (Essential Reading/Viewing)
Capitalism & Disability: A Symposium on the Work of Marta Russell - Beatrice Adler-Bolton & Artie Vierkant - Law & Political Economy Project
Dismantling the Poverty Trap: Disability Policy for the Twenty-First Century - David C Stapleton et al. - The Milbank Quarterly
Can Universal Basic Income work for disabled people? An examination of existing UK organisational and academic positions - Elliott Aidan Johnson - Disability & Society
Marta Russell's legacy and the political economy of disability - Bridget Broderick - International Socialist Review
Pursuing Economic Justice for People with Disabilities - Let's Get to Work: Reimagining Disability Inclusive Employment Policy
Supplementary Content
Supplementary Content
Benefits System Analysis:
Couples say they can't get married because of this government program's outdated rules - Joseph Shapiro - NPR
Medicaid Work Requirements Don't Work—They Harm People with Disabilities - Jacob Abudaram & Susan Mizner
What we wish people knew about living with a disability - ABC Australia
Alternative Economics:
Fact Sheet: Disability and Economic Justice - Disability & Philanthropy Forum
The New Wealth of Time: How timebanking helps people build better public services - Timebanking UK
Work and Productivity:
Disability and Welfare under Monopoly Capitalism - David Matthews - Monthly Review
Disability Rights Are Workers' Rights - Kim Kelly - The Century Foundation
Disability discrimination in the workplace: How companies can prevent it and what employees can do if it happens - Project WHEN
Reflection & Engagement Options
Reflection & Engagement Options
Journal Prompts
Journal Prompts
How has capitalism affected your life or your understanding of disability and productivity?
What would economic security look like for all disabled people? Dream beyond current systems.
How do you think about work, productivity, and value? Where do these ideas come from?
What economic alternatives inspire you? How might they support disabled people?
Discussion Questions for Learning Communities
How do SSI/SSDI benefit systems both support and control disabled people? What would true economic justice look like?
What's the relationship between the "worthy"/"unworthy" disability binary and capitalist ideas about productivity?
How do disability rights, universal basic income, and anti-capitalist movements intersect?
What would an economy designed by and for disabled people look like?
Creative & Artistic Engagement
Visual Arts:
Create artwork challenging productivity culture and capitalism
Design economic systems that center on disabled people's needs
Make infographics about the reality of living on disability benefits
Performance & Movement:
Create performances about the violence of poverty and economic exclusion
Develop a community theater about alternative economic models
Write and perform pieces about the mythology of individual productivity
Music & Sound:
Write songs about economic justice and disability rights
Create audio stories about mutual aid and community economics
Curate playlists about class struggle and disabled resistance
Digital & Tech:
Build tools for benefits advocacy and navigation
Create platforms for community-controlled resource sharing
Design apps that facilitate mutual aid and community support
Community Art:
Start community resource sharing or tool libraries
Organize skill-sharing events that challenge productivity culture
Create community maps of economic resources and mutual aid
Writing & Documentation:
Write guides for benefits advocacy and economic rights
Document alternative economic practices in disabled communities
Interview people about their experiences with economic systems
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