Does capitalism cause addiction?
Spectrum Street Epistemology in London
Peter Boghossian presented the claim, “Everyone’s addictions are the government’s responsibility” to a student at Goldsmiths, University of London. The young woman says she has been sober for more than two years and has an academic interest in addiction research.
The student says addiction is largely based on social circumstances and brain wiring and responsibility lies with government to provide resources and treatment. The cause of alcohol and drug addiction, she claims, is inherent in the inequalities of capitalism. When Peter asks about high rates of alcoholism in communist countries, she proposes that “there is no example” of true communism yet. In a “true Marxist” society, the capitalistic hierarchies and inequalities that fuel addiction will no longer exist.
Peter is great at these interviews. He conducts them in good faith, which is why the participants are so honest. The interviewee is wearing a "Jeff Hanneman" T-shirt. He was the lead guitarist and founder of the thrash metal band Slayer. Thrash metal bands are so establishment nowadays! Because . . . it's always the government's responsibility. If you want to be anti-establishment, what does one wear? A Glenn Miller Orchestra T-shirt?
The claim that there’s no true communism is true perhaps, but it’s not for lack of trying.