Is addiction (food, drink, drugs, cigs, etc) an effective way to cull the weak-willed from the human race?

Question

Contentious I know. Just curious what others think.

Before anyone wants to judge me as the first answerer clearly has, I'm intentionally judging no-one with my question. I think being addicted to something (as I am) is weak-willed as most don't wish to maintain an addiction but find they don't have the willpower to stop it, and my question is from an anthropological perspective not a moralistic or judgmental one.

You know what? Normally I don't like to disclose anything about myself but my viewpoints on here, but to prevent any confusion I think I'm addicted to caffeine - I don't function well without a coffee in the morning and I get a headache if I go a day or two without. Oh, and I used to smoke.

Sorry, just need to point something out to Gonzo:

I have not expressed whether I agree with my question or not - I tend to be interested in the views of others with questions like this, as I think I made clear.

The only thing I have expressed an opinion about - and the one which I think may be what you have issue with - is that addiction is a sign of a weak will. But regardless of the degree to which it affects different people, it is - this is undeniable. An addiction is an addiction almost by definition because people want to stop, but lack the will.

If you continue to make random presumptions about people's views it will probably not benefit you in the long term, although as it is not my place to tell you this I hope you don't mind me doing so.

Answer 1

You're on to something there.
I've thought for a long time about why the human population is allowed to go on increasing, while we cull any other species that is 'out of balance'.
What makes us humans so amazing that the planet must adapt to our over-population?
Addiction is really quite effective since it's self-administering. Nature has tried so many ways to curb our reproduction (cancer / plagues / aids / homosexuality) but we're clever enough to find way around them.
I know I sound nuts, but wait until there are large scale food or water shortages.
China had the right idea to allow only one child per couple. Our instinct to procreate is just too strong.

What really amuses me though, is that intelligent and ambitious people often don't breed (or not much) because they spend so much time at work trying to provide for themselves & their families due to massive taxation, when stupid and lazy people sit home all day getting stoned and drunk and breed like rabbits!!
Isn't the state benefit system marvellous?!

Answer 2

I don't think you are weak-willed with your coffee addiction. I think if you didn't drink coffee for a few days everything would be back to normal. Come on, if you could give up cigarettes then I'm sure you can stop drinking coffee. But why would you want to stop drinking coffee, anyway? According to the latest research, coffee helps avoid diabetes. Anyway, your question wasn't about this. You want to know whether addiction is an effective way to cull the weak-willed. Not always, because the addiction will not always kill you. Not all smokers die, in fact some smokers live to be 112. Not alcoholics die, although that is arguable. Certainly nobody died of coffee addiction before. Drug addiction, depends, usually hard drugs like heroin will lead to eventual overdose, but other drugs like marihuana isn't likely to kill people. The only thing that could be said about addictions is that it could cause the downfall of somebody in a way, especially if your enemies know about your addiction... Imagine if you are held hostage and they are trying to get information out of you...NO COFFEE UNTIL YOU SPEAK UP! Well, in this case it could be deadly as you could jeopardise the lives of a lot of people (if you are some sort of secret war-type person).

Answer 3

First, you make the assumption that certain addictions are caused by having a weak will. You, like the medical profession, appear to want to attribute all people with the same body functions, particularly as it relates to the handling of certain foreign chemicals, (alcohol sugars, pharmacueticals...etc.).

Next, you conclude that all others are normal.
Yet, if you were to take many human characteristics, they can be lumped in to a small overall percentile.

Finally, you are making a judgment call on who, if culled, would make the greatest impact for the better on our society. You might be surprised to discover just how many creative geniuses and highly prestigious individuals there were in history who suffered addictions. Had those individuals never existed/survived, we would be missing many things which you take for granted today.

Finally, there are those whom do not suffer addictions, who have a much greater negative impact on society as a whole. For starters, those whom seem to be hellbent for power who seem to lack the moral responsibility that should go with it.

Contentious question maybe, but one that probably many people think in some way or another. It's easy to target a small group of people that you don't understand and contemplate their demise with little compassion.

What you have to understand about addiction, is that it literally blinds the individual to their own problem, (at least for real harsh addictions like alcohol and most drugs). That is tough for anyone to understand. Just ask Rush Limbaugh who until this day thinks that his addiction was different than anybody Else's. That he was simply a victim, but believes of all other addicts as you do. No there's somebody in denial.

BTW, I'm in recovery from alcohol dependency. But, in all other aspects of my life, I have demonstrated high moral character, a propensity toward a strong will, high intellect, cognoscente reasoning and have provide many useful services to society.
Breaking an addiction takes more than simple will power. It crosses several aspects of the human psyche, which is why it is so powerful.

Hope that helps clarify things for you.

Answer 4

The prediliction to addicitve behavior is not a personality flaw but a genetic one. In other words, some people are born more susceptible to addictive behavior than others. So, those people and consequently that trait, would probably naturally die younger and breed less often if left to their own devices. These people are not weak willed, they are genetically flawed.

However, that isn't the case in our society. Those people are treated and helped to overcome the addictions and sometimes, are taught to resist their urges. Whether that is a good or bad thing is probably the subject of another discussion but it does nothing for removing the genetic trait from our species. The people who don't get help will most likely still suffer the cost but most won't.

So, the answer is no.

Answer 5

I think that addiction is the avoidance of emotional pain because the individual lacks other coping strategies. If the individual finds other ways of sooting themselves in times of crisis and has the courage to look for the sources of the emotional pain then the need for the addiction is reduced. There is always the risk of a relapse when the individual is hit with several emotional stressors at one time but with support they can get through the crisis period.

Answer 6

The human race has been eating, drinking, taking drugs and smoking for thousands of years.
A large percentage would be considered "addicts".
In 1870 there were one billion people on the planet.
There are now six billion.
So, the answer is most definately no.
It is just an effective way to get smashed.

Answer 7

Interesting question! As an addiction does not alway's result in death..also if someone is under the influence of drugs / alcohol and hurts another, it's the 'innocent' being culled!
Following on from that, you could also ask if natural disaster's are also a way of 'population control' by nature!!

Answer 8

Being a father of two teenage daughters i visit assert that habit to drugs won't be able to be fairly compared to cyber web or Chatting . I agree there is a few freedom to easily accept and also you would possibly want to fairly use courses like 'cyber web nanny' or 'kin alert' to randomly examine what web pages they could visit. The take care of them is that if i hit upon any incorrect website they'll be without cyber web :-) It has worked for 2 years and children are holding their end of excellent purchase. In cyber web there all identity's are universal to me even with the very undeniable actuality that it quite is my end of excellent purchase that i do no longer examine .

Answer 9

what??? everyone is addicted to something if its food fags or every day things like tv programes and what is this cull from the human race, who says people who smoke etc {except illegal drugs} are weak willed. you its a life choice however wrong it is it was the perons choice it does not mean they are weak willed and are going to be culled from the human race if this was the case we would all be culled >:(

Answer 10

I'm sure to some extent it is i have a illness that is inflamed by smoking yet i still cannot bring myself to stop,i think of myself as intelligent yet know that i am not helping myself and would not blame docs in the slightest if they refused to treat me(even though a lot of them smoke too).
To look at it from a different angle i have lost and am about to loose family members and friends to cancer who have never smoked.