The disabled state

by Deborah A. Stone

"This is a book about the defining assumptions and assumed definition of the welfare state. It is a work that pulls apart social categories like "disability" or "need" and shows how they function politically and where they come from historically. For many years, the welfare state was expanding. In those times, advocates for many new groups of people were able to win through the political process the extension of benefits to their constituents. Definitions of need, worth, and eligibility were changed so that more people became "entitled" to payments. The opposite trend is in effect now. Most advanced industrial states have experienced some form of fiscal crisis, and their governments are taking a hard look at how they define who is eligible for support. One major category is disability. But who is "disabled," and who decides that? Though doctors certify disability for the state, Stone argues that "the concept of disability is fundamentally the result of political conflict about distribu