Independent living: the frontier of communitarian welfare?¹

1. This article is derived from a contribution given to the Economic and Social Research Council Seminar ‘Opportunities, Challenges & Tensions: Linking the Ageing and Disability Agenda’ at Lancaster University, 26 January 2012.

Abstract

We hear so much about the ‘cost’ of care, today;and so little about the value society places upon ‘care’ and welfare, which, in turn, can promote economic, social and civic participation within society at large. The question of what should be supported and valued in contemporary society needs exploring critically. In the following I explore three well-established responses to the question of how society should support and deal with disadvantage. I argue that communitarian politics/thought and the independent living movement have key roles to play in forging a better society for disabled people.

Keywords:

• independent living
• disadvantage
• communitarianism
• co-production

Notes

1. This article is derived from a contribution given to the Economic and Social Research Council Seminar ‘Opportunities, Challenges & Tensions: Linking the Ageing and Disability Agenda’ at Lancaster University, 26 January 2012.