Liviu Poenaru, Dec. 24, 2024.

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Robert Chapman’s Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism stands as a bold and illuminating critique of how capitalism has shaped the concept of "normality" and, in doing so, perpetuated systemic oppression of neurodivergent individuals. The book's interdisciplinary nature draws on philosophy, sociology, history, and economics, offering a nuanced exploration of the mechanisms through which capitalist systems construct, enforce, and exploit cognitive and behavioral norms. By weaving historical analysis with contemporary critique, Chapman joins a growing chorus of scholars, such as Judy Singer, Lennard Davis, and Michel Foucault, who have interrogated the socio-political dimensions of disability and neurodiversity.

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Chapman’s historical materialist framework places the origins of “normality” within the context of capitalist development, echoing themes in Michel Foucault’s work, particularly Discipline and Punish and The Birth of the Clinic. Like Foucault, Chapman identifies the historical conditions under which the body and mind became objects of surveillance and categorization. Foucault’s concept of biopower is especially relevant here, as Chapman details how capitalist systems transformed diverse ways of thinking and being into pathologies requiring regulation, often under the guise of medical and psychological expertise.

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Judy Singer, who coined the term "neurodiversity" in 1997, serves as a foundational figure in the movement that Chapman critiques and extends. Singer framed neurodiversity as a sociological concept, advocating for the recognition of neurological differences as part of human diversity rather than deficits to be "fixed." Chapman builds on Singer’s framework, providing a Marxist analysis that links the medicalization of neurodivergence to the economic imperatives of industrial and post-industrial capitalism. This approach complements Lennard Davis’s work in Enforcing Normalcy, which critiques the historical emergence of the "normal" as a statistical concept and a tool of social control.

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Chapman’s argument that capitalism requires and perpetuates disablement aligns with critical disability studies scholars like Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and David Mitchell. Garland-Thomson’s Extraordinary Bodies critiques how capitalist societies frame disability as a deviation from productivity norms, while Mitchell and Sharon Snyder’s The Biopolitics of Disability explores how neoliberal economies commodify and exploit disabled bodies. Chapman extends these analyses to neurodiversity, illustrating how capitalist logics produce a “surplus class” of neurodivergent individuals who are excluded from or precariously tethered to the labor market.

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The concept of the “surplus class” that Chapman introduces resonates with Marx’s notion of the "reserve army of labor," a group of workers marginalized during economic downturns but drawn back into the workforce when conditions demand. However, Chapman adapts this idea to focus on neurodivergent individuals whose exclusion is less about economic cycles and more about structural biases embedded in capitalist systems. Chapman’s argument that capitalism commodifies neurodivergence resonates with broader critiques of neoliberal governance and the commodification of health and bodies.

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Chapman's analysis aligns with Gavin Mooney's critique in "The Consequences of Neoliberalism," where he argues that neoliberal policies have detrimental effects on public health by prioritizing market-driven approaches over equitable healthcare access. Our author contends that capitalism enforces a narrow definition of "normal" cognitive and behavioral functioning, marginalizing those who deviate from these norms. Similarly, Mooney highlights how neoliberalism's emphasis on individual responsibility and market solutions undermines collective health outcomes, exacerbating inequalities. Both authors underscore the systemic nature of these issues, suggesting that meaningful change requires challenging the underlying economic ideologies that perpetuate exclusion and inequity.

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Chapman’s critique of the "pathology paradigm" reflects a broader shift in neurodiversity and disability studies away from medicalized models of difference toward social and political frameworks. Their argument is bolstered by the work of Thomas Szasz, whose The Myth of Mental Illness questioned the legitimacy of psychiatric diagnoses as tools of social control, and by R.D. Laing, a key figure in the anti-psychiatry movement, who linked mental illness to the alienation produced by consumer capitalism. Chapman incorporates these perspectives to critique how capitalist systems individualize and pathologize neurodivergence, ignoring its social dimensions.

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The book’s discussion of measurement and standardization draws on Ian Hacking’s The Taming of Chance, which explores the historical emergence of statistical norms as a means of categorizing and controlling populations. Chapman echoes Hacking’s concern that these metrics reduce complex individual experiences to quantifiable data, reinforcing oppressive systems of categorization. Similarly, Lennard Davis’s critique of the normal curve as a tool of eugenics provides a crucial backdrop for understanding how statistical norms became intertwined with capitalist productivity.

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Chapman’s call for an intersectional approach to neurodivergent liberation draws on Kimberlé Crenshaw’s foundational work on intersectionality, which highlights how overlapping systems of oppression shape individual and collective experiences. By situating neurodiversity within broader struggles against racism, sexism, and economic inequality, Chapman echoes the arguments of Bell Hooks, who in Ain’t I a Woman emphasizes the need for solidarity across marginalized identities. Chapman’s assertion that “neurodivergent workers organizing as neurodivergents” can become agents of systemic change recalls Cedric Robinson’s concept of the black radical tradition, which posits that marginalized groups can resist oppression through collective action rooted in their shared experiences.

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The book also engages with Antonio Gramsci’s notion of cultural hegemony, critiquing how capitalist societies naturalize the concept of “normality” to maintain social control. Chapman argues that challenging these hegemonic norms requires not only legal and policy changes but also a cultural shift toward valuing diversity in all its forms. This aligns with the work of scholars like Sara Ahmed, who in Living a Feminist Life advocates for creating spaces of resistance within oppressive systems.

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In envisioning a future beyond the “empire of normality,” Chapman proposes an ecosystemic model of neurodiversity that draws on ecological metaphors to emphasize interdependence and diversity. This approach is reminiscent of Gregory Bateson’s Steps to an Ecology of Mind, which highlights the interconnectedness of mental, social, and environmental systems. Chapman suggests that just as ecosystems thrive on diversity, societies can benefit from embracing a plurality of cognitive and behavioral styles.

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However, the book’s call for “mass consciousness-raising” and “collective imagining” leaves some gaps in terms of practical implementation. While Chapman’s vision is inspiring, it could benefit from engagement with scholars like Nancy Fraser, who in Redistribution or Recognition? outlines concrete strategies for addressing systemic inequalities through both material and cultural changes.

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Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism is a groundbreaking contribution to neurodiversity studies, disability studies, and Marxist critique. By weaving historical analysis with contemporary sociopolitical commentary, Chapman provides a powerful framework for understanding how capitalism shapes our perceptions of normality and difference. The book is enriched by its engagement with a wide range of thinkers, from Foucault and Marx to Singer and Davis, situating neurodiversity within broader struggles for social justice.

 

While some aspects of the book’s vision for liberation remain underdeveloped, its historical materialist critique of neurodiversity and capitalism is both rigorous and compelling. Chapman’s work invites readers to imagine a future where diversity is not pathologized but celebrated, and where the oppressive structures of capitalism are dismantled in favor of a more inclusive and equitable society. For scholars, activists, and anyone invested in the politics of difference, Empire of Normality is an essential read.

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About the author

Robert Chapman is a neurodivergent philosopher, writing on neurodiversity theory, madness and disability. They have taught at King's College London, the University of Bristol and Sheffield Hallam where they are currently a Senior Lecturer in Education and Autism. They blog at Psychology Today and at Critical Neurodiversity.

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GO FURTHER

Ahmed, S. (2017). Living a feminist life. Duke University Press.

Bateson, G. (2000). Steps to an ecology of mind: Collected essays in anthropology, psychiatry, evolution, and epistemology. University of Chicago Press.

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

Davis, L. J. (1995). Enforcing normalcy: Disability, deafness, and the body. Verso.

Foucault, M. (1975). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.). Pantheon Books. (Original work published in French)

Foucault, M. (1973). The birth of the clinic: An archaeology of medical perception (A. Sheridan, Trans.). Pantheon Books. (Original work published in French)

Fraser, N. (2003). Redistribution or recognition? A philosophical exchange. Verso.

Garland-Thomson, R. (1997). Extraordinary bodies: Figuring physical disability in American culture and literature. Columbia University Press.

Hacking, I. (1990). The taming of chance. Cambridge University Press.

Hooks, B. (1981). Ain’t I a woman? Black women and feminism. South End Press.

Mitchell, D. T., & Snyder, S. L. (2015). The biopolitics of disability: Neoliberalism, ablenationalism, and peripheral embodiment. University of Michigan Press.

Robinson, C. J. (2000). Black Marxism: The making of the Black radical tradition. University of North Carolina Press.

Singer, J. (1999). Why can’t you be normal for once in your life? From a “problem with no name” to the emergence of a new category of difference. In M. Corker & S. French (Eds.), Disability discourse (pp. 59–67). Open University Press.

Szasz, T. S. (1961). The myth of mental illness: Foundations of a theory of personal conduct. Harper & Row.

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