Redefining Economic Productivity

Capitalist economics measures worth through wage productivity, excluding unpaid care work, artistic creation, community building, and knowledge-sharing—activities disabled people often perform. Zera Yacob's reason-based ethics invites us to question whether productivity narrowly defined as paid labor truly captures human value. Redefining economic productivity means recognizing that disabled people contribute through caregiving, peer support, advocacy, creative work, community organizing, and knowledge generation. Some of this work should be paid; some has value beyond monetary exchange. A more just economy would: compensate disabled people's care and community work; create flexible employment matching disabled people's capacities; value non-wage contributions in social accounting; and fund disabled people's participation in economic decision-making. This reframing doesn't mean disabled people must justify their existence through productivity. Rather, it expands what counts as economically valuable, creating space for disabled people's diverse contributions and establishing that all disabled people deserve security regardless of economic output.