Disability Praxis

The rise of the extreme right globally, the crisis of capitalism and the withdrawal of all but the most punitive arms of the state are having a disastrous impact on disabled people's lives. This is the political context in which the concept of 'disability praxis' is set. What then is its relevance to disruptive theory and practice? Bob Williams-Findlay offers an account of the transformative potential of disability praxis and how it relates to disabled politics and activism. He addresses different sites of struggle, showing how disabled people have advanced radical theory into the implementation of policies. Examining the growth of the global Disabled People's Movement during the 1960s, Williams-Findlay shows how a new social discourse emerged that shifted the focus away from seeing disability as restrictions on an individual's body, towards understanding the impact of restrictions created by capitalist relations. He shines light on the contested definitions of disability, asking us to reconsider how different socio-political contexts produce varied understandings of social oppression and how we may play a role in transforming definitions.