The Problem with Quality of Life

Author: Simon Duffy

Progress has been made on the journey towards human rights and citizenship for people with disabilities. Large institutions are ​now seen as unacceptable, human right standards have been defined by the United Nations and accepted by many nation ​states. There have been innovations in support, personalisation, self-direction and independent living. However, it is also clear ​that there are different ideas about where this journey should take us. This paper is a reflection on the EURECO Forum in March ​2022, where academics and professionals discussed the concept of Quality of Life. It share several concerns:

People with disabilities were rather absent and insufficient weight was ​given to ideas like human rights, entitlements and self determination.


Some felt that deinstitutionalisation was nearly complete and that we ​should be seeking a new stasis, built on current norms of good practice. ​There was no acknowledgment of the re-emergence forms of eugenics, ​institutionalisation and discrimination nor of the possibility of much ​greater levels of inclusion and citizenship than are currently being ​achieved.


There was too much faith in the capacity of government, academia and ​services to establish new systems to achieve Quality of Life for people ​with disabilities. The hazards of hubris, objectification and ​commodification didn’t get the attention they might.

This is not to suggest that the conference was anything other than a ​positive effort to assess where we currently stand and the challenges ​ahead. However we must be cautious because there are still too many

threats to the rights of people with disabilities We need to create a bold ​vision of equal citizenship for all and move beyond standards that are ​still set too low.

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The publisher is Citizen Network Research. The Problem with Quality of Life © Simon Duffy 2023.