Critical disability studies (CDS) has emerged as an approach to the study of disability over the last decade or so and has sought to present a challenge to the predominantly materialist line found in the more conventional disability studies approaches. In much the same way that the original development of the social model resulted in a necessary correction to the overly individualized accounts of disability that prevailed in much of the interpretive accounts which then dominated medical sociology, so too has CDS challenged the materialist line of disability studies. In this paper we review the ideas behind this development and analyse and critique some of its key ideas. The paper starts with a brief overview of the main theorists and approaches contained within CDS and then moves on to normative issues; namely, to the ethical and political applicability of CDS.
Unlike his theory of justice as fairness, John Rawls’s political liberalism has generally been spared from critiques regarding what is due to the disabled. This paper demonstrates that, due to the account of the basic ideas of society and persons provided by Rawls, political liberalism requires that the interests of numerous individuals with disabilities should be put aside when the most fundamental issues of justice are settled. The aim is to accommodate within public reason the due concern for the disabled while upholding political liberalism. To achieve this aim, a revision of the basic ideas of persons and society is proposed. The idea of persons should be regarded as more fundamental than that of social cooperation, and persons should be defined in terms of minimal moral powers.
"People with disabilities are often amongst the poorest in the developing world. Yet they are usually left out of development projects. This is not because of ill-will. Development organisations simply do not know how to include them. This book offers suggestions based on the experience of organisations that participated in a two-year learning programme. It is full of useful tips on how to launch inclusive programmes and projects, how to prepare your staff for working with people with disabilities and how to adapt your organisational processes and systems"
Available in Braille, high resolution, low resolution and word formats.
Available in Portuguese: "Inclusão de pessoas com deficiência nos projectos de desenvolvimento: Um guia prático para organizações do Norte e do Sul".
Available in French: "Tiens compte de moi - L'inclusion de personnes en situation de handicap dans les projets de développement"
Available in Spanish: "Cuenta conmigo - Incluir a las personas con discapacidad en los proyectos de desarrollo"