Independent living ignores

The cult of independent living systematically ignores the vast network of interdependence that makes any individual autonomy possible. It’s perhaps the most successful ideological sleight of hand in modern society—making invisible the very infrastructure that enables the illusion of self-sufficiency.

──── What independence actually requires

True independence is only possible through massive social coordination and infrastructure investment that remains deliberately invisible:

Roads, utilities, internet - Physical infrastructure maintained by collective labor Education systems - Knowledge transmission requiring generational cooperation
Healthcare networks - Medical expertise accumulated across centuries Financial systems - Trust networks enabling economic exchange Food production - Agricultural systems spanning continents Legal frameworks - Social contracts enforced by institutions

Every “independent” person depends entirely on systems they neither built nor maintain.

──── The care work erasure

Independent living ideology systematically erases the care work that makes independence possible:

Childhood development - Years of intensive care and education Emotional support - Ongoing relationship maintenance and psychological care Domestic labor - Cooking, cleaning, organizing that enables productivity Elder care - Support for aging parents and community members Community maintenance - Social bonds that provide safety and belonging

This work is primarily performed by women and remains economically invisible under independence ideology.

──── Disability as ideological threat

The independent living movement initially emerged from disability rights advocacy, but got co-opted by broader individualism that erases disabled experiences:

Accessibility accommodations expose how much “normal” independence depends on environmental design Care assistance reveals the support networks that everyone needs but abled people take for granted Adaptive technologies demonstrate that independence is always technologically mediated Community support shows how individual functioning depends on social cooperation

Disability rights demanded real independence through social support. Mainstream culture adopted the rhetoric while rejecting the infrastructure.

──── Economic value extraction

The independent living ideology serves economic interests by making care work appear optional rather than essential:

Unpaid domestic labor gets excluded from economic measurement while enabling all paid work Family care responsibilities get treated as personal choices rather than social necessities Community volunteer work provides essential services while remaining economically invisible Emotional labor maintains social cohesion while being treated as costless

Independence ideology allows economic systems to extract value from care work without compensating it.

──── Gendered independence hierarchies

Independence gets coded as masculine while interdependence gets devalued as feminine:

Financial independence is valorized while care dependence is stigmatized Professional autonomy is celebrated while domestic cooperation is minimized Individual achievement gets credited while collaborative success is overlooked Self-reliance becomes moral virtue while asking for help becomes personal failure

This creates impossible standards that particularly burden women who are expected to be both independent achievers and primary care providers.

──── The nuclear family trap

Nuclear family ideology promises independence from extended community while actually increasing dependence on individual partners:

Two-person households must provide all emotional, economic, and care support internally Geographic mobility severes extended family and community support networks Suburban isolation maximizes housing costs while minimizing shared resources Child care privatization forces families to purchase services once provided by community

The nuclear family structure maximizes individual vulnerability while promising independence.

──── Aging and independence collapse

Independent living ideology completely breaks down when confronted with aging realities:

Physical disabilities eventually affect everyone who lives long enough Cognitive changes require support systems that independence ideology doesn’t acknowledge Social isolation increases with age as independence networks prove insufficient Care needs become unavoidable, exposing the interdependence that was always there

Society treats aging dependence as failure rather than the inevitable result of successful longevity.

──── Technology dependence illusions

Modern technology creates deeper dependence while maintaining independence rhetoric:

Smartphones require global supply chains and rare earth mining Internet connectivity depends on massive infrastructure and energy systems Digital platforms extract value while providing essential communication services Automated systems remove individual control while appearing to increase convenience

Technology promises independence while creating new forms of systemic dependence.

──── Geographic independence myths

The ability to live independently in particular locations depends entirely on collective infrastructure that gets treated as natural rather than socially constructed:

Urban amenities require dense populations and collective service provision Rural utilities need subsidization from urban tax bases Suburban lifestyles depend on car infrastructure and environmental externalization Mobility options require massive transportation systems maintained by governments

Geographic “choice” is actually access to different forms of collective infrastructure.

──── Independence as social control

Independence ideology functions as social control by making individual failure appear personal rather than systemic:

Economic insecurity gets blamed on individual choices rather than policy decisions Mental health struggles become personal weaknesses rather than social conditions Educational outcomes reflect individual merit rather than resource distribution Health disparities get attributed to lifestyle choices rather than environmental factors

Independence rhetoric prevents collective responses to systemic problems.

──── Care strike implications

What happens when care work actually stops reveals the interdependence that independence ideology obscures:

Teacher strikes shut down the childcare that enables all other work Healthcare strikes expose how quickly individual independence becomes medical dependence Transportation strikes reveal mobility dependence that gets taken for granted Utility strikes show how basic survival depends on collective infrastructure

Care strikes make visible the labor that independence ideology renders invisible.

──── Alternative value frameworks

Recognizing interdependence doesn’t eliminate individual autonomy—it creates more realistic foundations for it:

Universal basic services provide security that enables genuine choice rather than forced independence Community care networks distribute support responsibilities rather than isolating individuals Cooperative economics acknowledge mutual dependence rather than denying it Accessible design creates environments that support diverse needs rather than assuming standard abilities

Real independence requires acknowledging and supporting the interdependence that makes it possible.

──── The measurement problem

How do we value care work that enables independence? How do we account for the infrastructure that makes individual achievement possible? How do we measure the collective labor that creates conditions for personal autonomy?

Independence ideology solves this measurement problem by making interdependence invisible rather than accurately accounting for it.

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Independent living ignores the massive social coordination required to create conditions where individual autonomy becomes possible. It’s not that independence is bad—it’s that independence without acknowledging interdependence becomes exploitation of the care work and social infrastructure that makes individual freedom possible.

The ideology serves to justify inequality by making structural support appear personal rather than social. It allows privileged individuals to claim credit for achievements that required collective effort while avoiding responsibility for maintaining the systems that enabled their success.

True independence would require honest accounting of interdependence—recognizing and supporting the care work, social infrastructure, and community cooperation that make individual autonomy possible in the first place.