Social Inclusion of Disabled People and Two Models of Risk

In his article “From Dangerousness to Risk”¹⁾, Robert Castel described the contemporary society as a “two-speed society”.  It is a society which consists of hyper-competitive and marginal sectors, and assign people to either of the two according to their abilities.  Castel illustrates this strategy with sheltered employment of disabled people.

               Unlike eugenics, according to Castel, confinement and sterilisation is used no more in the “two-speed society”.  In addition, special care becomes unnecessary by assigning disabled people to less competitive activities.  Thus, Castel argues that the “two-speed society” enables risk prevention which can dispense with both repression and assistance.

               Risk in Castel's argument refers to a combination of factors and is detached from personality.  Once an individual comes to have certain risk factors, however, s/he receives a special treatment like sheltered employment.  In this sense, risk here effectively makes specific people the “Other”.

               On the other hand, risk in Ulrich Beck's argument²⁾ is universal, in that people all over the world more or less share the same risk.  For instance, he points out that people who are able-bodied at present can be disabled at any time.  Such common risk, once recognised, can engender solidarity.

               In the context of disability, interpreting disability as a universal risk is quite popular, though such limitative understanding of disability as Castel's certainly exists.  This presentation first locates some researches and programs concerning social inclusion of disabled people in reference to these two different approaches to risk and disability.  Then the presentation goes on to examine the different consequences of these approaches.

1) Castel, Robert. 1991. “From Dangerousness to Risk.” In The Foucault Effect. Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon, and Peter Miller, eds. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 281-298.

2) Beck, Ulrich. 1998. Risikogesellschaft. Translated by Ren Azuma and Midori Ito. Tokyo: Hosei University Press.