Capitalist society—which values profits above all else—segregates and marginalizes people with disabilities. It is not the existence of a physical or mental impairment itself which diminishes one’s life, but rather the unemployment, poverty, discrimination, and segregation imposed upon people with impairments by an inaccessible and unaccommodating society. As Judy Heumann, founder of the 1970s group Disabled In Action (DIA, put it, “Disability only becomes a tragedy for me when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives.” This talk examines the origins and development of disability as well as the history of the fight for disability rights, and will argue that Marxism not only helps provide a fuller understanding of the politics and nature of disability, but also a vision of how people with disabilities can play a part in building a better world for all.