Dreaming of Global Kinship: The Dilemma of Disability in Capitalism in Powers’s Bewilderment and Psychotherapy

This essay examines the dilemma of disabled individuals in a capitalist society that equates worth with productivity. Using the character Robbie from Bewilderment and the clinical case of Mirabel, it explores how capitalist norms suppress the true self. Psychoanalytic and disability theories illustrate how individuals must contort, split off parts of themselves, or face exclusion. The paper argues for a framework of global kinship, valuing care and relationality as essential rather than exceptional. By shifting from production to connection, we reimagine belonging, interdependence, and what we owe one another and the Earth.