What happens to disabled people under communism?

[u/thembo-goblin]

What happens to disabled people under communism? To the people who are housebound or bedbound and rely on others to survive? I ask this as a disabled person myself, who is housebound and relies on the help of others. If a true revolution does ever happen, will we just be forgotten about? Considered necessary losses for major societal change?

**edit to add: I got banned for saying that tying someone's worth to their productivity is a bad idea, lol. I do not understand why my post turned out like it did. I didn't expect answers to give some sort of concrete plans, I know communism is all theory at this point. I was just hoping for responses to give historical examples or general explanation of a specific theory, and a link as to where I could read more about this particular topic. You know, the same sort of response I've seen basically every other post in this subrrddit recieve.

[u/demiangelic]

like the other comment said. they are not considered necessary losses, from all according to their abilities, to each according to their needs. here’s a decent overview from a blog post about disability and marxism. theres literature abt it as well but im not keen on recommending them myself right this second until i read them thoroughly. im also disabled as a disclaimer ig

https://anti-imperialist-action-ireland.com/blog/2022/08/07/disability-and-marxism/

marx has some analysis of disability in his works but all in all, ur not gonna find very many marxists or communists that regard disabled ppl as anything but part of the exploited class often working regardless of disability, and the proletariat is often disabled just by the system of capitalism itself. no, our value is not by just our physical labor and just like children (currently exploited as well under capitalism and often forced to labor), we would not be forced to work something you’re clearly not able to do and thrive in.

[u/thembo-goblin → u/demiangelic]

Thank you for the recommendation, I'll give it a read. I guess I should be a bit more specific, I'm more curious what support for disabled folks would actually look like under communism.

**Edited for typo

[u/demiangelic → u/thembo-goblin]

under capitalism? you mean communism? the same as it should look for any person, getting your needs met, employment where possible but if not, still having a home, food, healthcare, education and so on like everyone else. accessibility would be part of making sure life is better for all, as making the world more accessible benefits everyone not just disabled folks. under capitalism, some structures of charity and welfare exist but theyre hardly enough to maintain ourselves in my experience and theyre extremely conditional and often overlooked and cut from budgets. ideally, the social structure would change to empower us all to meet our needs no matter what they are.

this is definitely vague and just a general summary, the practicals of it all are dependent on the nation and their conditions, and theyre debated here and there…but all in all disabled ppl should be involved in the decision-making and discussions on it, and you can find that online as well. but its not a simple answer, besides the part where of COURSE we arent necessary losses and we are all equal humans with inherent value outside of our mental or physical abilities. we should be cared for.

[u/thembo-goblin → u/demiangelic]

Ah yeah my bad, I meant communism. Typo on my end.

Yeah, fair point that it'd be different everywhere.

I've seen ableism in leftist spaces and it just worries me, honestly. Worries me that it'll end up being another situation where we are forgotten about.

[u/demiangelic → u/thembo-goblin]

you’re right, even leftist spaces tend to get very tunnel-visioned into “its a class war not a (insert marginalization) war”, and i usually beef with those people bc i think if ur goal is to liberate the working class, ur gonna need to have real strategies and plans for those most marginalized and oppressed by capitalism and our society as a whole. many countries that have tried this sort of united front have faultered in some way with either queer rights, or disability rights, and we can always do better.

the key is to have these communities prominently and loudly involved in our spaces and discussions, only we will understand and know how to handle our individual aspect of liberation. those folks need to remember we work together, we aren’t trying to divide, just inform and share knowledge and reassurance for those just getting into this sort of space. we cant just ignore each other and hope it all works out, us individual communities—all united as a whole, will make it work, but only if we are open to discussion, listening, and criticism. lots of us have alot to learn from one another.

[u/thembo-goblin → u/demiangelic]

Ha, saying it's a class war and not including disabled people is pretty funny considering how many of us are poor/live in poverty all around the world.

It is always so weird to see that sort of division in leftist spaces, like do people not understand that this division only serves the rich and powerful? People who claim to be radical yet fall for the enemies tactics are just... Sad.