# Can capitalism ever work for disabled people?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-capitalism-ever-work-for-disabled-people/781367>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [March 4, 2017, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-capitalism-ever-work-for-disabled-people/781367 "2017-03-04T08:57:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-capitalism-ever-work-for-disabled-people/781367/41 "2017-03-09T01:34:39Z")

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I would argue that capitalism, far more than any other economic system, rewards _intellectual_ capability.

Which certainly provides the opportunities for the disabled to achieve things they wouldn’t otherwise be capable of elsewhere.

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**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-capitalism-ever-work-for-disabled-people/781367/42 "2017-03-09T01:41:09Z")

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> [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
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> But that’s exactly the point. Capitalism measures everything in financial terms. Everything. Handicapped people require more and generally can contribute less, so the convinced capitalist will let them die. Like the current Republicans who are about to kill tens of thousands a year to enrich the already rich.

Can you measure how capitalist countries [give](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/america-new-zealand-and-canada-top-list-of-world-s-most-generous-nations-a6849221.html) the most to charity, by far, in financial terms?

And how to explain this phenomenon? Is it that human nature is not to be measured by the cold curve of supply and demand, and that the broad accumulation of wealth afforded capitalist societies might actually prove to be of tremendous humanitarian value?

Or are we just here to bash capitalism in favor of _insert non-existent liberal utopia here_?

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-capitalism-ever-work-for-disabled-people/781367/43 "2017-03-09T01:48:01Z")

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> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#):
>
> Capitalism was not the driving force behind that charitable activity.

No, but the idea of Capitalism was founded on real-world observations that, when people were given incentives to work hard in pursuit of the common good, that they did so. And when they weren’t, they were lazy, selfish bastards.

Capitalism is, in effect, charity. It’s a motivational system towards a charitable lifestyle.

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