The Capacity Contract: Intellectual Disability and the Question of Citizenship

(Paperback)

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Taking seriously democratic promises of equality and inclusion, The Capacity Contract rejects conceptions of political citizenship that privilege cognitive capacity and, instead, centers such citizenship on action that is accessible to all people. As the first sustained examination of disability through the lens of political theory, The Capacity Contract shows how the exclusion of disabled people has shaped democratic politics.

Reviews

"The Capacity Contract brings much-needed insights to both political theory and disability studies. Its original analysis calls for the fuller recognition of the contributions of the intellectually disabled and their social inclusion as citizens."Kristin Bumiller, Amherst College

"Most political theorists would agree with Rawls that citizens need to possess cognitive capacities within some normal range, but Stacy Clifford Simplican argues that such a capacity contract is wrong. She provokes us to disrupt these norms."Joan Tronto, University of Minnesota

"A very interesting read."Catholic Medical Quarterly

"Simplican presents a rich analysis of the role of capacity in classic political philosophy and offers a significant contribution to the field. "Disability Studies Quarterly

"The Capacity Contract should be required reading not just for political theorists but for everybody conscientious about being alerted to unconscious patterns of bias and exclusion in their everyday lives and practices."The Review of Politics

Author Bio

Stacy Clifford Simplican is a postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State University and the DOCTRID Research Institute, which focuses on improving the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities.