Historique
Chapitre
Homelessness, addiction, and politically structured suffering in the US war on drugs
Auteur(s) :
BOURGOIS, P.
Année :
2011
Page(s) :
241-259
Langue(s) :
Anglais
ISBN :
978-1-4094-0543-6
Domaine :
Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs
Thésaurus géographique
ETATS-UNIS
Thésaurus mots-clés
SANS ABRI
;
HEROINE
;
USAGER
;
ETHNOGRAPHIE
;
POLITIQUE
;
DISPOSITIF DE SOIN
Résumé :
It is apparent that the neoliberal culture underpinning drug policies contributes to the reproduction and worsening of social deprivation and poverty, which themselves are key determinants of precarious drug user. As Bourgois so graphically and poignantly illustrates, personal suffering is politically structured often based on puritanically inspired traditions of righteous individualism that define poverty to be a moral failing of the individual. Bourgois shows the human costs of this stigmatization, demonstrating how the destruction of human bodies of homeless addicts is exacerbated by neoliberal policies and values. By highlighting the experiences of homeless heroin drug addicts in San Francisco, he paints not only a bleak picture of their exploitation in the labor market, but shows clearly the way that they are punished by social and, even on occasion, medical services, and brutalized by law enforcement forces. This chapter highlights, in both a personal and cautionary tale, a warning of what can happen if the potential consequences of the "puritanically inspired traditions of righteous individualism that define poverty to be a moral failing of the individual," are allowed to determine social policy. This is yet another illustration of consequences of adopting solely an atomistic understanding of drug-related issues and an undervaluing of socio-economic and cultural factors. [From the book's introduction]
Affiliation :
United States / Etats-Unis
Cote :
L01616