The downside of neurodivergent awareness in liberal societies will inevitably be that subsets of neurodivergents will be hyperexploited while the rest will be further marginalized.
It’s also cool that countries like the US and Germany want records of autistic people. Where have we seen this before?
I can also see us being the first ones in the gas chambers again because we dont fall for propaganda as easily due to lacking framing effect and lacking social cohesion.
That’s close to the original distinction between Aspergers and Autism. Aspergers were highly exploitable high performing workers, Autistic people were too disabled to be useful and thus fed to the gas chambers.
The autism question is currently one of my least favorite as one faces some cruel contradictions alongside it:
- i dont think we have one percent of marxists in the western population, therefore the amount of non bourgois people who can attack this issue minuscule
- autism isnt a huge issue in socialist countries from what i have read so far
- culture war is only appropriate alongside class war and imo has no bearing on its own as it ultimately leads to dysfunctionality and sectarianism
My personal situation does not make the question easier to work on:
- being gifted and having virtually no theory of mind, I cant imagine what autism feels like for people who are not gifted
- being manyfold marginalized, yet privileged in some parts leads to mental health issues for me paired with the bourgois guilt economy
Material circumstances of course dictate that people have different capabilities. Meeting bourgois ableism head on is its own issue entirely.
From those contradictions my answer always is a dialectical materialist work on autism, maybe based on radical psychology as referenced in a prolespod episode of last year which was very good.
If you have additional suggrstions or ideas as how to take on this issue, feel free to voice them. :)
Autistics are hyper-exploited in capitalist societies but I too hear very little about it’s impact in socialist and dem-soc countries, or in the global south in general. The tension of demanding our (autistics) hyper-exploitation and us being acutely aware of that could be a factor (such as through diagnoses ascribed as ‘pathological demand avoidance’ or other ‘developmental disorders’). Even apparent efforts to reframe autism in a positive light also positions us as exceptional, gifted, and thus groomable and exploitable. Whereas out of that context, epigentic behaviors as impacted by environment don’t seem to be so significant for accomodations (disability).
Autistics are hyper-exploited in capitalist societies but I too hear very little about it’s impact in socialist and dem-soc countries, or in the global south in general.
My theory to that is that people in the imperial core face a set of contradictions that autistic people on average cant solve and break down due to it. it is the overt cruelty vs the relative comfort which is ultimately bought with blood. The suicide rate is skyrocketing in the imperialist states, legal and illegal drug use is skyrocketing as imo self medication kicks in to not break down individually.
The tension of demanding our (autistics) hyper-exploitation and us being acutely aware of that could be a factor (such as through diagnoses ascribed as ‘pathological demand avoidance’ or other ‘developmental disorders’).
To this, after 25 years of self-studying psychology on and off, I would theorize that it shows the contradiction that autistic people often cant function in this environment and go the self stigmatizing and agonizing route of getting tons of diagnoses to somehow get taken off some of the burden which otherwise might lead to suicide.
Even apparent efforts to reframe autism in a positive light also positions us as exceptional, gifted, and thus groomable and exploitable. Whereas out of that context, epigentic behaviors as impacted by environment don’t seem to be so significant for accomodations (disability).
To this I want to offer a different perspective. The differences between autistic people are also clear in bourgois society but they are much more nuanced in a marxist perspective. Being gifted (as in having a special talent for e.g. spatial thinking, word association, memory, etc.) is real. People have different capabilities and denying such is ableist and reactionary imo. The difference imo is that bourgois society and psychology uses a binary approach which labels people as gifted or non gitfted, making them two “classes” which makes sense in an oppression perspective but of course it also makes sense in a socialist environment to test and build certain talents. This means, as with AI, being gifted or having certain talents is material reality and letting go of the dogmatism of denying that and not further trying to pull people back in their unique talents imo is the way to go.
Again, I think this would loudly scream for a marxist work on it so that we can have a stronger foundation and can set some things as given and throw out others without having to discuss them over and over. :)
To this, after 25 years of self-studying psychology on and off, I would theorize that it shows the contradiction that autistic people often cant function in this environment and go the self stigmatizing and agonizing route of getting tons of diagnoses to somehow get taken off some of the burden which otherwise might lead to suicide.
Can personally relate.
Being gifted (as in having a special talent for e.g. spatial thinking, word association, memory, etc.) is real. People have different capabilities and denying such is ableist and reactionary imo. The difference imo is that bourgois society and psychology uses a binary approach which labels people as gifted or non gitfted, making them two “classes” which makes sense in an oppression perspective
Oh i do think being gifted is real, and I can see how it can be reactionary to flatten the exceptional skills talents and thinking one may have. I was definitely referring to the gifted to burnout paradox, of typing and classifying people to be exploited, and then discarding them.
One thing i feel may be helpful to say is that from my experience, autistic people will mask to pass in these conditions and often that means over self reliance, saying yes to everything, overworking, willingly being maipulated and coerced, and so on. So disabilities become disabilities in this case when the energy stress and strain to maintain that mask eventually fails. This whole process can have dramatic effects, including diminishing and reduction of gifted skills and talents. With the conditioning western societies impress upon autistic people, the idea of binary giftedness can very well manipulate gifted peoples into diminishing these traits.
Fully agree. I think it is important, same as the recent discussion about cutlure, that we band together to work out these things and create actual scientific socialist perspectives on this instead of letting the reactionary west dictate the discussion. o7
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When did I say that i’m superior or it having to do with my genes?
Every person has a different set of skills and features. I for example have very bendy fingers. Do you want to call me a nazi for that too?
I suggest you start treating comrades with more respect.
Oh god don’t tell Keir starmer, the fucker is literally setting up the groundworks for the “camps of concentration” for anyone that isn’t neurotypicial.
As a USian I feel like pulling all my “credentials” of my autistic diagnosis, so it may not be used againat me, if that’s even possible. It seems too late.
