| Tess wrote:
>If we lived in a utopian society then the social safety net would take
>care of those who are mentally or physically ill. And it would
>recognize the difference between those who are mentally ill but
>functional, and those who aren't.
I'm all for that, in principle. In practice it doesnt work out so good though. You go on to illustrate why...
> Personally I'm not one of those
>people who think drug addiction or alcoholism is a mental illness. I
>think it's a personal choice, and that many people can be either or
>both and still be functional in society. The choice is in letting the
>addiction consume you to the point that you can't function.
The inability to distinguish between those that can work and those that cant is one of the problems with the great ideal expresed above. Medical research and diagnosis is simply riddled with crap for an assortment of reasons, and to imagine authorities can distinguish one from the other is simply incorrect.
In Britain, where the above ideal is in place to a fair extent, not only do they have poor ability to distinguish who can work and who cant, but really they dont seem that interested. You get hit with bullshit responses to claims at random, whether you get your entitlement is as much a lotto as anything - in some cases. And lots get state money when they deserve nothing.
Lava |