Disablement, Work, & Free Time Under Capitalism

‘They went for wealth, not health. They chose to tolerate inequality. They opted for more of the same as we’ve had since 2010. That choice says much about Westminster’s priorities. People in power don’t look at life expectancy because [...] we’ve all got used to expecting less from our lives’👇🏼

graphic image of lots of diverse people

On 7 April the new Fair Work Agency launches.

Tomorrow, with @melaniesimms.bsky.social, Prof. Ruth Dukes & Dr Eleanor Kirk @glasgow.ac.uk, we’re bringing together key voices to explore what this shift in labour market enforcement means for workers in Scotland.

(image:Zdravka Boudinova-Zdravolina)

Poster for the event featuring a tarot card with pieate carers, the invitation to join the event and the logos of the collectivee supporting the event - bsa, mdn, cas, rival, alternatives to capitalism research network, and the vagabonds book series of pluto books

Join us on March 3, 7pm GMT for an online discussion of Pirate Care by Valeria Graziano, Marcell Mars, Tomislav Medak

This event is supported by various collectives & will launch a book review forum published in the Postdigital Science & Education Journal link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#Disability #Anticapitalism #AntiWork #FreeTime #Rest #DisabledSky

The politics of disablement, work, and free time under capitalism (white writing on a dark red background)

Account #Update

The previous project on precarious work & disablement (from which more publications will emerge) will be complemented by a new project on rest & free time under capitalism.

If any collectives are interested in getting in touch/finding out about the 2nd project, please DM/email!

#25 - Monica
'I would say to pay more attention to their family and less attention to their work because work is just not as important as your family'.
- Monica

#Rest #Disability #Work

"Just try and keep going, you know? And have a sense of humour, realise that there's some things that are out of your control. Trying to be aware of that and moving through the world at our own pace is what we all have to do. Try not to be too self-critical and be aware of internalising ableism. And just... good luck!'. - Felix

'Try not to be too self-critical and be aware of internalising ableism. And just... good luck!'
- Felix 2/2
#Rest #Disability

#24 - Felix
"Just try and keep going, you know? And have a sense of humour, realise that there's some things that are out of your control. Trying to be aware of that and moving through the world at our own pace is what we all have to do'.
- Felix 1/2

#Rest #Disability

Poster titled “Bread & Roses: Rest and free time as sites of struggle in disabling capitalism.” The title appears in grey text inside a white rectangle at the center. Behind it are overlapping yellow and orange rectangles. The background features a grid pattern resembling squared notebook paper.

Disability &
Rest / Free time / Leisure

If you know Disabled People's Organisations or other UK-based community groups / collectives currently interested in exploring the politics of rest and free time, please recommend!

#Disability #DisabilityStudies #DisabilityRights #Capitalism #Rest #FreeTime

Rest / Free time / Leisure
&
#Disability

If you know UK-based Disabled People's Organisations or other community groups / collectives that are currently interested in exploring the topics mentioned above from a 'political' perspective, please recommend!

#DisabilityStudies #DisabilityRights

#23 - Dom
'Don't take work too seriously. Do the work you have to do and hopefully enjoy it (and join a union if possible), but it's not your entire life, so find leisure activities that give you pleasure. And best of luck whatever happens'.
- Dom

Today's Workers' Mic goes on-air at 8:00 AM Central time on @wgnradio.bsky.social 720 AM in #Chicago.

Hear it at
wgnradio.com/on-air/

#1u #UnionStrong #LaborRadioPod

I'd tell them that they're right, everything that they say is right - all of the feelings that they have about how wrong and how shitty everything is, and how things should be better, they're absolutely right. Being let down and feeling ignored is definitely the common experience and there are other people that feel the same way. Find them because that will help. - Alex

'Being let down and feeling ignored is definitely the common experience and there are other people that feel the same way. Find them because that will help'.
- Alex 2/2

#22 - Alex
'I'd tell them that they're right, everything that they say is right - all of the feelings that they have about how wrong and how shitty everything is, and how things should be better, they're absolutely right'.
- Alex 1/2

Worker Writing Workshop (Marxism & Disability Network + Notes From Below) · Luma Join us for an online worker writing workshop! An open space to share your ideas for writing about work, we will draw on previous workers' inquiries to…

Very excited to collaborate with Notes from Below on a Disability & Work Issue
On 21st January we'll be hosting an online workshop - an open space for sharing ideas on work, it'll draw on previous workers' inquiries to introduce methods/frameworks for writing about your experiences luma.com/spnoc68z

<em>British Educational Research Journal</em> | BERA Journal | Wiley Online Library Attainment grouping is an important policy issue and is increasingly practiced in UK primary schools, with researchers presenting contrasting stances on the impact to pupils' attainment and academic ...

Congratulations to Esther Outram, a PhD student I am lucky enough to work with, on publishing her first journal article in @berj-2025.bsky.social.

Is there space for dyslexia in high-attainment educational environments? Evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study
doi.org/10.1002/berj...

If you're lucky to find something that you love to do - do it! But also remember that if you want to continue and make a positive difference in the stuff that you do, then you can't influence and help others if you don't take care of yourself. You have to trust yourself and find people around you that you trust, because sometimes you do things without realising that you're doing them. Find those special people around you and when they tell you to stop doing something and take a rest, take their word as gospel. Otherwise you can't change the world if you exhaust yourself. At the end of the day you can only do what you like to do if you're able to do it, so think as much about yourself and what you do and you should be able to keep doing it'. - Mark

'Otherwise you can't change the world if you exhaust yourself. At the end of the day you can only do what you like to do if you're able to do it, so think as much about yourself and what you do and you should be able to keep doing it'.
- Mark 3/3
#RestAndDisability

If you're lucky to find something that you love to do - do it! But also remember that if you want to continue and make a positive difference in the stuff that you do, then you can't influence and help others if you don't take care of yourself. You have to trust yourself and find people around you that you trust, because sometimes you do things without realising that you're doing them. Find those special people around you and when they tell you to stop doing something and take a rest, take their word as gospel. Otherwise you can't change the world if you exhaust yourself. At the end of the day you can only do what you like to do if you're able to do it, so think as much about yourself and what you do and you should be able to keep doing it'. - Mark

'You have to trust yourself and find people around you that you trust, because sometimes you do things without realising that you're doing them. Find those special people around you & when they tell you to stop doing something & take a rest, take their word as gospel'.
- Mark 2/3
#RestAndDisability

#21 - Mark
'If you're lucky to find something that you love to do - do it! But also remember that if you want to continue and make a positive difference in the stuff that you do, then you can't influence and help others if you don't take care of yourself'.
- Mark 1/3
#RestAndDisability

Yet another attack on disabled people by attempting to take away as many kinds of infrastructures for going through everyday life with fewer social restrictions

#DisabilityAndWork

The Australian Sociological Association

Great discussion at @sociologyaustralia.bsky.social Australian Sociological Association Annual Conf. y'day!

Thanks to the Sociology of Work, Labour & Economy Stream for placing such interestingly linked presentations (Aastha Thakur's, Kirsten Ambrens', Brendan Churchill's & mine) on the same panel

🤩

Now there's a thought....

Society for Disability Studies The name of the society is placed next to its blue dandelion logo

Ask an expert: conference presentations: before, during, and after Join Ioana Cerasella Chis and Amanda Apgar for an interactive mentoring conversation tailored to graduate students. This session will demistify conference participation, with accessibility considerations woven throughout. Workshop highlights: * choosing conferences/audiences; * developing accessible, engaging presentations * navigating conferences 75 min. session includes: * self-reflective Qs for attendees * 5-min break halfway through * 20-min discussion and Q&A Ideal for: * grad students and junior scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies 24 November 2025 12:00 - 1:15pm EST For questions and access: admin@disstudies.org Society for Disability Studies The poster also features a QR code and an illustration of a person presenting in front of an audience.

Many thanks to the Society for Disability Studies
@disstudies.bsky.social for hosting a workshop co-delivered with Amanda Apgar earlier today, on conference presentations (and related matters).

Support SDS & become a member!
#DisabilityStudies #HigherEd
www.patreon.com/c/societyfor...

The Interview YouTube video by Brian Bilston - Topic

‘Tell me: what do you enjoy the most about your current role - the low pay, the long hours, the workload you can’t control? Or your feeling of relief when you’re absolutely anywhere else?’

Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires

youtu.be/xvwvI6eoyFs?...

a person is reading a book with a lot of words on it Alt: Gif of a person closing a book

Over the coming months, I will be working on a book that focuses on some aspects of the arguments developed through this project. Sharing this here as a way of pressuring myself into a more disciplined writing routine and to let mutuals know that something might be on the way.

Where People Meet: How We Celebrate, Sustain and Reimagine Community Centres - New Local This report sets out the vital role that community centres play in local areas and makes the case for investing in their future.

Interesting @wearenewlocal.bsky.social podcast episode on community centres (there are approx 21,000) in the UK!

www.newlocal.org.uk/publications...

'For me the most important thing is to kill that "little capitalist devil inside ourselves" because that's toxic to everyone and it's very stupid and it's generated by this interlocked system of oppression, capitalism, and normalcy. The starting point is to be better able to defend ourselves and other people, our comrades (either disabled or temporarily able-bodied) from oppressive demands that are placed in terms of productivity, workload, performance. Maybe on that basis, do not be honest with your employer or whoever that is'. - Egista

..'to defend ourselves and other people, our comrades (either disabled or temporarily able-bodied) from oppressive demands that are placed in terms of productivity, workload, performance. Maybe on that basis, do not be honest with your employer or whoever that is'.
- Egista 2/2

#20 - Egista
'For me the most important thing is to kill that "little capitalist devil inside ourselves" because that's toxic to everyone and it's very stupid and it's generated by this interlocked system of oppression, capitalism, & normalcy. The starting point is to be better able'..
- Egista 1/2

Graphic with a white background and text: The State of Critical Race Disability Studies A White Paper Report from the Disabled Scholars of Color Collective

The State of Critical Race Disability Studies A White Paper Report from the Disabled Scholars of Color Collective

disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2025/10/15/g...