Abstract:

Applies a critical gerontology framework to aging & disability issues, reviewing theoretical models of the disablement process, & noting the primacy of environmental factors. The production & distribution of disability are assessed, using both social epidemiology & political economy insights. The linkage of disability & work impedance & the consequences in disability programming are examined, giving special consideration to inherent age, gender, & racial biases. Some of the historical antecedents of disability stigma in aging populations are also identified. It is suggested that analysts & policymakers who wish to address the tremendous social & economic inequities that accompany aging & disability should look to the principles put forth by the independent living movement & to recent work on the moral economy of interdependency over the life course.