Book cover of The Right to Maim

Book description

In The Right to Maim Jasbir K. Puar brings her pathbreaking work on the liberal state, sexuality, and biopolitics to bear on our understanding of disability. Drawing on a stunning array of theoretical and methodological frameworks, Puar uses the concept of "debility"-bodily injury and social exclusion brought on by economic…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Right to Maim as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I find Puar’s work to be very useful even if the theoretical framework she uses is different from, though adjacent to, mine. Usually I find the “biopolitical” analysis cloying and idealist, but Puar has developed her own materialist use of this framework that I have learned a lot from. In The Right to Maim Puar examines the liberal state’s use of maiming and debilitation as part of the reproduction of its hegemony. Not only does she examine the way a liberal disability discourse functions to exclude marginalized and targeted populations—proposing a vector of disability, debility, and capacity—she also interrogates…

From J.'s list on the state and state repression.

If you love The Right to Maim...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like The Right to Maim?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Right to Maim.

Browse books like The Right to Maim

Book cover of The State and Revolution
Book cover of The General Theory of Law and Marxism
Book cover of On the Reproduction of Capitalism: Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like The Right to Maim, you might also like...

Book cover of In Bad Faith

In Bad Faith by Geoffrey Carter,

Nelson West, a former Chicago homicide detective, is hired by wealthy heir Lionel Bing to discreetly help “fix” scandals and legal problems for his father’s wealthy friends.

Bing, a brilliant but troubled investigator, suffers from PTSD symptoms as a result of being kidnapped and witnessing the murder of his mother…

Book cover of Your Sun Will Rise Again: Poems of Hope and Survival

Your Sun Will Rise Again by Joseph Jean Baptiste Jolicoeur,

Your Sun Will Rise Again is a powerful collection of poetic reflections on hope, resilience, and the human spirit. Written with sincerity and depth, these poems speak directly to those navigating life’s challenges, offering comfort, clarity, and quiet strength in difficult moments.

Through simple yet profound language, the book reminds…

5 book lists we think you will like!