The War on Disabled People: Capitalism, Welfare and the Making of a Human Catastrophe (Paperback)

A new book by disabled activist Ellen Clifford could not be more timely. Clifford, who is active in the UK with the Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC) looks at the intersection between capitalism and disability and how disabled activists have been fighting against the austerity agenda in the UK ... The courage, commitment and clarity of politics found in Clifford’s book are a resource that anyone who is serious about building a better world can draw on. The War on Disabled People is a must-read book on resistance to the "conscious cruelty" of austerity, which attacks the most disadvantaged … Clifford's book thoroughly documents the government’s ideological policy agenda of welfare reforms to rip away the welfare-state safety net and put conscious cruelty at the heart of their austerity agenda. A fascinating and well-researched understanding of how, since 2010, the lives of disabled people in the UK have been negatively impacted by political decisions including austerity and capitalism ... The book packs a punch. It leaves the reader in no doubt about how each separate austerity cut has cumulatively affected and eroded the lives of disabled people. This is an angry and important book, full of damning findings, moving testimonies and above all highlighting the inspiring struggles of a new generation of activists against a brutally disabling system. [A] hugely revelatory account of the one-quarter of UK society whose struggle for justice is literally a matter of life and death. The book ... launches a very welcome cry of pain about the conditions in which disabled people have been pushed in the UK since 2010. ‘A vivid account of the systemic oppression on people labelled “disabled” and is essential reading for everyone concerned about inequality and injustice. ‘If you want to resist the cold cruelty of the war on disabled people and its intensification in the age of austerity, this book is utterly indispensable. Disabled people have suffered terribly in the period of Tory austerity. Just bad luck? Ellen Clifford gives the answer and explores the uncaring politics behind this harsh regime of punishing the vulnerable. This is an essential book. A valuable framework for our continued resistance against the continuing onslaught of purely ideological attacks on our human rights. As the proportion of disabled people gets ever larger in societies globally, this becomes a must-read text. ‘A forensic account of the devastating assault on disabled people’s benefits and services.