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Reading Group for June
🕑 Added 2022-06-04 09:40:15 +0000 UTCFor the reading group this month we'll be examining the book "The War We Never Fought by the British conservative writer Peter Hitchens. In this work Hitchens examines the law and culture regarding drug use/abuse in British society. In doing so he makes the argument against legalisation and states that the idea of the "war on drugs" is largely a fiction. We will be looking at Hitchens critique and discussiong the issue of drug usage, the harm reduction argument and what attitude communists should adopt to these issues. If you have questions or comments on this then be sure to add them below.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14619787-the-war-we-never-fought
Comments
Ashes
This would be a really interesting issue to touch on. This is especially the case with the ‘Deaths of Despair’ in the US and how their health system plays a role in getting working class people hooked on opioids. A lot of them do physically demanding work that leads to pain and they get prescribed opioids. Alcohol also comes into this as another coping mechanism.
Brian J
I'm also looking forward to this episode. Not sure if it's within the scope of the discussion here, but I was wondering if there could be exploration of the relationship between so-called illicit drugs and the rise in prevalence of pharmaceutical drugs in modern society, including the interplay when it comes to illicit drugs used for medical research purposes or those who begin using illicit drugs after running out of a prescription.
Ashes
Oh this is a great topic. I’ve been around the left and seen the heavy drug use (along with alcohol) and how it influences the leftist position (along with the middle class nature of the left). My guess is that a working class movement would see it as anti-social and inducing laziness. Lucky for me now, I no longer consume alcohol, tobacco, caffeine or bad sugar as a lot of that stuff disrupts the stability and discipline in my life. Can’t wait to hear this analysis.
