Addiction in Free Markets

by Bruce K. Alexander and Stefa Shaler

1 though any person in any society can become addicted, free market societies universally dislocate their members, leading to mass addiction. This simple proposition can profoundly change the way that we deal with addictions in ourselves and others. Although often overlooked by addiction professionals, the evidence for this proposition fdls our history and our everyday life.

In order for a "free market" to be "free," the exchange of labour, land, currency and consumer goods must be controlled by the laws of supply and demand, and must not be "distorted" by personal loyalties, village or

neighbourhood responsibilities, guild or union rights, charity, family obligations, ethnic tastes and aversions, social roles, or religious values....

Disastrously, todays free market fundamentalists ignore all previously understood limits, including Adam Smiths1 warning that national governments must resist the power of manufacturers to "become formidable to the government and . . . intimidate the legislature." Smith also feared excessive profits and considered "private luxury and extravagance" to be "ruinous taxes." We`ve gone too far toward the free market extreme, and one of those consequences is mass dislocation and, in its train, mass addiction.

At the beginning of the 21st century, for rich and poor alike, jobs disappear on short notice, communities are weak and unstable, people routinely change lovers, families, occupations, co-workers, technical skills, languages, nationalities, therapists, spiritual beliefs and ideologies as they navigate the shopping malls, real estate markets, and employment agencies. Prices and incomes are no more stable than social life.

1. Alexander and Shaler take addiction to include "drug use and many other activities that do not center on drug use" What definition of addiction do you think they are using in this essay?

2.    Alexander and Shaler refer extensively to three centuries of English history and to the history of Native Canadians. How do they link these examples with the effects of free market society in the present? Is this argument convincing to you?

1.Argue one side or the other of one of the following statements, drawing on the material from the readings listed following and from the critiques you completed in Activity 4. Remember that your thesis must be your own. Because your essay will be shorter than the assigned readings, you will need to narrow your topic, zeroing in on what you believe are the most important points. Addictions are a product of social dislocation and family stress. Readings: Addiction in Free Markets (see linked PDF); "An Insatiable Emptiness" (page 495). 2.Using the material generated in Activity 4 of this unit and the following list of possible topics, draft a response to the arguments presented in the assigned readings in an essay of 1,000 to 1,250 words. Your essay should be well organized, with good paragraph structure and transition; a strong, ethical, persuasive approach; an appropriate introduction and conclusion; and lively, precise, and grammatically correct sentences. Use a variety of rhetorical techniques, as appropriate, and use MLA-style documentation to cite any material that you quote, paraphrase, or summarize. Revise, edit, and proofread as necessary.