Conversation

The social security system is shaped by an ideology where as Disabled people, if we aren't creating (or, enough) surplus value for capitalists, our needs, hopes and dreams are deemed to be something we don't deserve. Instead, it's about how 'productive' we are. In the UK, we're asked questions like how long we can sit or stand, and whether we can use a pencil as part of a demeaning Work Capability Assessment where the intent is to make us do something, whether work, or work related activities like job training, to access inadequate levels of income that are increasingly under attack as part of late capitalist divide and rule. Our worth, nor anyone's, should be determined by that revealing question of "what do you do?". We shouldn't need to *do* anything to have our needs met, live fulfilling lives, pursue creative passions without worrying the state will come after us and say, for example; well if you can do x that fills you with some joy and meaning that means you can work and you will now lose the little bit of income you have to survive. Our lives are not defined by work, 'productivity' or 'value', we matter beyond these socially constructed terms and related practices that are central to the inequalities, injustice, and problems we face today.