Capitalism and Autism: Two Love Stories

Photograph: David Maisel- Library of Dust- Oregon State Hospital

(inside each of these urns are the remaining corpses of unwanted mental health individuals no one has claimed; the cheapest form of disposal one could come up with).

When I watched Michael Moore’s latest movie: Capitalism: a Love Story, it struck me that many of the flaws of the current economical system revealed by his analysis were also relevant to the situation we are facing today in autism. Irrespectively of our take on autism,whether it is with regard to advocacy for disability rights or as parents asking for greener vaccines, or even as researchers, educational and medical professionals, the bottom line is that our inability to provide better answers relates to our society losing sight of its true values; the ones of its people and environment, at the expense of the greediness of ownerships. People are no longer defined by their actions but by what they own, consequently, we are racing as individuals to get the better share of what this world can offer us. Unfortunately, the current free system of exchange implies that what is owned by a few is lost by others. This attitude prevails over the values of caring, supporting communities, or developing better solutions to a particular community or environment problem.

The film presents a very grim analysis of our economical system pervasively infiltrating every single aspect of our lives. The cynicism of the situation is however wider than presented; Europe is not spared and it is by no means only the lowest income people who are facing this harsh reality, it is also the reality of all individuals with a disability and their families. The reason is simple, care and provisions for these individuals are costly. Would a democratic system as Michael Moore proposes serve this cause better, when a democracy often equates to insufficient representation of its minorities? I wish I could believe in this view.

A few facts reported are chillingly reminiscent of some conspiracy theories with regard to the role played by the pharmaceutical industry in developing markets at the expense of people’s health. The Dead peasants' insurance policy for example, pays employers a secret, tax-free windfall when they die. Insurers have sold millions of policies to companies. The cost benefit for someone losing his/her life amounts to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to the company per employee, and the younger the better. None of this money will ever come to support the remaining family, no matter how harsh their living conditions become. Such insurance policies were set up in the 80s. The congress has recently tried to crack down on the practice, to the howls of the insurance industry, but earlier this year, reforms were derailed. In other words, the congress was ruled out by power of money, irrespective of the highly unethical aspects of the business taking place. I refrain from seeing our world too sordidly, however, one must acknowledge the existence of very plausible theories behind not only the rise in autism, but also various mental health disorders including depression as well as AIDS.

How could these things really be happening?

Michael Moore seems to be putting this down to a progressive derailing of democratic values after Roosevelt, who set out in The New Deal legislations intending to create new jobs for the unemployed and to provide direct assistance to individuals, with the Social Security Act.

Moore also reminded the audience of the initial aims of the American Constitution in the name of “The People”:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”

Justice? Domestic tranquility? General Welfare? Our Prosperity?

Over the last 20 years, financial markets have undergone a revolution, driven by deregulation, a rapid pace of financial innovation, global financial integration and the increasing role of the financial sector in the economy. This has led to the current financial crisis seen as one of the worse since the great recession of the 1930s. The implications are the bail outs, the loss of jobs, the loss of housing. I learned that a home is being repossessed in the US every 7 ½ seconds, leaving families out in the streets with no belongings or prospects for a place to live. Additional financial and economical ventures have been developed that further weakens the system, with increased borrowing and so far, even with a new democrat president, the system remains under the ruling of the financial industry.

So where does this leaves us with regard to autism? Sadly, it seems that autism has to become a commercial or political affair in order to generate the services that are needed. Autism is not seen so far as a social civil rights issue. Today, in Scotland, England or France, parents have to fight in court to get a half suitable education provision for their autistic child. They have to fight to prevent the pharmacological seclusion of adults and to have access to a placement that offers the provisions needed. Today parents don’t even visit their GP to ask for support with the health issues their child experiences. Provisions are scarce or absent. The issues are too costly for the government to respond to and the demands do not meet their match. We have to somehow go back to the basics; the basics are the values of people and the environment, but what system would enable such refocusing? Autism is not a financial free-market concept and it is not even a democratic issue. It is a moral matter, but who is promoting morality now-a-days?

Coincidently, as I was reading "In the Country of Last Things" by Paul Auster, I found myself facing a very similar haunting picture of a devastated world chillingly shadowing the one depicted by Moore. How much worse is this going to get?