The Roots of Addiction in Free Market Society

This paper is a thoughtful examination of the origins of addiction in modern free market society. It breaks from the narrow way in which we usually think about addiction -- as excessive drug use -- to encompass any lifestyle with compulsive and destructive habits, including the compulsion for money, power, work, food, or material goods. Author Bruce Alexander, a Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University, discusses why addiction is a serious and growing problem today, and looks at the links between the growth of "free markets" and the spread of addiction.