Disability, Ableism, and Devaluation
How capitalism contributes to the marginalization of Deaf and disabled people
Brief disclaimer
This is the sixth of a multi-part article series based on a paper I originally wrote for a University rhetoric course. If you missed parts 1–5, I recommend reading those first.
I broke a very long paper into sections and made edits to make it easier to read, so I hope you enjoy.
The surplus class
Under capitalism, Deaf and disabled people are considered part of the surplus class. Not only are we valued based on our productivity (our ability to contribute to capital), our value is subject to change based on society’s economic requirements at any given time.
As people who may be limited in our ability to contribute to the workforce — or the workforce being limited in its willingness to accommodate us so we may fully participate — we are relegated to a lower class of citizenship in a capitalist hierarchy, yet must remain available for exploitation for profit by the higher classes.
There are multiple dynamics at play in these situations, and I will explore two main themes here: audism and power. Audism, a sub-type of ableism, is “the notion that one is superior based…
