Presents an excerpt from the authors' book, 'Unfaithful Angels: How
Social Work Abandoned Its Mission,' to be published by The Free
Press.
By
Harry Specht,
Mark Courtney, published on July 01, 1993
ERRANT INDIVIDUALISM
"Generations of Americans have been brainwashed with psychological
and psychiatric theories that identify the individual as the source of
many problems that are basically social in origin. From early childhood,
Americans are socialized and educated to believe that with proper
attitudes, insight, behavioral training, and motivation, the individual
can overcome almost any social problem; child abuse, depression,
loneliness, anomie, chemical abuse, and so forth. Thus, Americans of all
social classes-the poor and the rich alike-have a trained incapacity to
see the community of which they are a part as either the cause or the
solution of many social problems."
PHOTO: The L.A. riots: when a community of individuals nearly
destroyed itself. (J. BARR/GAMMA LIAISON)
From Unfaithful Angels. How Social Work Abandoned Its Mission, by
Harry Specht and Mark Courtney, to be published by The Free Press.
Tags:
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chemical abuse,
child abuse,
children,
culture,
depression,
early childhood,
free press,
gamma liaison,
generations,
harry specht,
individuality,
mark courtney,
photo,
problem child,
proper attitudes,
riots,
social work,
society,
trained incapacity,
violence
