State Policy on the Problems of the Homeless - Book Report/Review Example

?Righteous Dopefiend In this engaging read, Righteous Dopefiend, Philippe Bourgois and Jeffrey Schonberg provide an informative insight about the issues of homelessness and drug addiction prevailing in the US society. The authors’ riveting narration revolves around the homeless people and the heroin addicts in the streets of San Francisco, portraying their daily struggles for survival. Through this powerful work, Bourgois brings to light the role of the organizational forces in shaping the lives of these addicts. However, the authors do mention about the moral responsibility on the part of these homeless addicts for their deformed life. In this book, the authors cast their characters around different themes of racial relations, violence, sexuality, social inequity, family trauma and suffering. The primary objective of this paper is to bring out a detailed analysis of this literary work in connection with the general themes of social inequality, health, violence, political and economic policies. Here, we particularly take the major issues prevailing in the current US society and integrate it with the contents of this ethnographic work providing a sociological discussion. As an anthropologist, Bourgois and his staff, Schonberg has spent more than a decade, analyzing the lifestyle and behaviors of the homeless people in Edgewater Boulevard. The authors provide a narrative, describing the chaotic lifestyles of the heroin addicts and crack smokers, as a result of their emotional and physical addiction towards heroin. According to the authors, the lumpen Edgewater homeless community, comprising of homeless addicts, has its own ethical and moral rules, specific to mention is their ‘moral economy of heroin sharing’. Though dopesickness and the power of addiction might cross all the ethnic and the racial boundaries in the community, division along the racial lines is still a part of life in the Edgewater Boulevard. Thus the community is accompanied with social inequality, racial discrimination, domestic and political violence and government intervention, causing the lives of the people to be miserable. The authors tend to show off the ways in which the social inequality among the community people impose and pain and misery to their living. Their lifestyle is deformed to meet their drug requirements, inducing them to indulge in activities like panhandling, burglary, day labor, prostitution and recycling. The authors also explore the pleasant parts of life among the homeless drug-addicted community such as their family and childhood memories, longing love for their parents and children, their parenting experiences and their bonding towards committed personal relationships. Furthermore, Bourgois mentions that the punitive governmentality of the US is the major force that influences the lives of the homeless indigent poor people. He also stresses that the political, social, economic and cultural policies has a great impact on the lives of these homeless people. The lives of the homeless people, along with their grave drug addiction, health concerns as well as the risks of personal and institutional violence are well portrayed through the book. Let us take an in-depth analysis of the various health issues, social disparities, punitive governmentality, political and domestic violence prevailing among the homeless drug addicts of the Edgewater. The authors’ experiences with the homeless people reveals the outcast lives of these addicts which seems to be much different from the socially accepted society, as they are living as slaves to their own addiction. It is obvious that various forces like social, economic and political interventions had shaped and influenced the lives of these addicts to a greater extent. It is a matter of fact that every homeless heroin addict would require a considerable amount of money to feed their drug addiction. For this very reason, they constantly pooled money and shared it with the other members, creating a sense of community and mutual obligation. Here comes their ‘moral economy of sharing’ with a view that maintaining a generous reputation might be reciprocated in the future, in case of dopesickness. Authors state that this kind of mutual sharing carried out merely for survival reasons tend to create better community bonding and survival among the people, apart from the economic reasons or generosity. “Cooperating to purchase bags is not simply a pragmatic, economic, or logistical necessity; it is the basis for sociality and establishes the boundaries of networks that provide companionship and also facilitate material survival.” (Bourgois & Schonberg 83). Furthermore, despite living in a pestiferous environment, their unclean practices in drugs injection would pave way for various infections. The healthcare providers and workers tend to advise the Edgewater homeless regarding these health issues like sharing needles, unsanitary usage of injection equipment with others, etc. However, it is impossible to afford such sanitary practices in their poverty-stricken community. According to Bourgois, the only prevention strategy they handle is ‘rinsing with water’ for reducing their risk of epidemiological HIV infections patterns. It is the responsibility for the health care organizations to run regular community health assessments for the benefit of the people. However, the results of these assessments are unlikely to be implemented among these homeless people, as their primary motive is drug consumption, despite the health concerns of self as well as the community. “This is a potentially transformational notion, based on a belief that the health-care system doesn’t decide or drive health, even that individuals don’t particularly drive their own health.” (Klein). Thus it has to be accepted that it is not the negligence of the healthcare system but the ignorance and unwillingness of the individual communities in wiping out this social crisis. The health care policies and legal measures initiated by the government attempts to bring positive changes to their community, yet seldom succeeds. The reason behind this fact is the punitive nature of the government that tends to treat the drug addicts through violent criminal laws and social justice system. As noted by the authors, “Carl is an example of a ‘dual-diagnosis’ addict whose medical problems were being handled punitively in the criminal justice system rather than by public health services.” (Bourgois & Schonberg 218). This kind of handling by the government adds to the authors’ notion of punitive governmentality acting as a major force in shaping the lives of drug addicts. The domestic violence incorporated within the community is mainly because of the racial differences, gender inequalities and political influences. Basically, violence caused on the account of the racial differences and gender inequalities are rectified among the community through their moral ethics, especially their moral economy of heroin sharing. The effects of violence on the interpersonal and inter-racial grounds are recognized in the routine daily lives of the community. Nevertheless, racism is overcome by the sharing mentality, as well as the differing ethnic and racial cultures are intertwined among the community due to the dependency. In case of violence against sexuality and gender roles, rather than interpreting their violent behavior as harmful, they justify the acts as a reformation of inappropriate gender roles, accepting it as a part of patriarchal society. Among the homeless communities, the military and political violence are instilled with respect to the drug-use and existing illegal practices. The rationale for the execution of violence, especially through military weapons and tactics has become obvious in the government’s current policies. “These tactics have become as a means of pursuing nonviolent suspects and low-level investigations, particularly in the war on drugs.” (Stillman). The organization of power in the United States has promoted inequality among the society, reinforcing it with the political, economic and military forces, ultimately leading to the decline in the quality of life among the people. “Within American society, major national power now resides in the economic, political and the military domains.” (Mills, 1999, p.337). As a result, the class, income and gender inequalities distort the lives of the people leading to social disparities at all levels. The influence of the ‘structural forces’ like political processes and economic fluctuations has worsened the lives of homeless with respect to poverty, illegal drug use and law enforcement. Thus it has become essential to evaluate the contemporary crime policies regarding the current criminal punishments like incarceration as well as the social disparities in respect to race, gender and class. “Ameliorating these inequalities will be necessary to set us on a path away from mass incarceration and toward a robust, socially integrative public safety.” (Western & Pettit 18). Thus eradicating the inequality among the poor communities would cause to reduce the negative social and economic effects on them. The reason for class inequality among the homeless is contributed by the US neoliberal political economic model of capitalism. It is an undeniable fact that “State capitalists use markets to extend their own political and economic leverage – both within the society and on the international grade.” (Bremmer 250). However, these free markets which are protected by military intervention and law enforcement is deemed to provide benefits for the corporate monopolies, while minimizing the redistribution of income and services among the poor. This inequality among the society is catalyzed by the government’s economic policies which had obviously exacerbated the homelessness. Efforts have to be taken to bring changes into the lives of these homeless addicts by approaching the problem as a health and equality crisis in the country. Appropriate housing policies, counseling and drug-abuse programs as well as job opportunities would help the people recover to a normal lifestyle. In addition, the individual’s cooperation with the health-care organizations for efficient counseling and rehabilitation is of paramount importance to bring about positive changes into their lives. From this excellent narrative, the authors bring the readers into a clear understanding that eradication of homelessness requires not only efficient government policies, but the moral responsibility of the individuals to look ahead for a better life. As highlighted by the authors, the punitive governmentality has greatly influenced the lives of the homeless with the organization’s political, economic and social policies. In addition, the American class structure and its social disparities fueled by the economic model of capitalism puts the homeless communities under misery and destitution. However, the violence executed towards these homeless addicts by the political and social forces, has to be minimized with strict policies, which might be unlikely in the current American scenario where power is at the hands of the economic and military forces. Works Cited Bourgois, Philippe I and Jeffrey Schonberg. Righteous Dopefiend. University of California Press, 2009. Bremmer, Ian. “The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?” European View, 9:249-252. Klein, Ezra. “Is the Future of American Health Care in Oregon?” Washington Post. 20 May 2013. Web. 25 Nov 2013. Mills, C. Wright. The Power Elite. Oxford University Press, 1999. Stillman, Sarah. “Swat-Team Nation.” The New Yorker, 8 Aug 2013. Web. 25 Nov 2013. Western, Bruce & Pettit, Becky. “Incarnation and Social Inequality.” Daedalus Summer, 2010. Web. 25 Nov 2013. Discussion Questions 1. Does the aspects of the situation in which the homeless are living owes to their heroin addiction? 2. How does the political intervention and violence influence the lives of this lumpen Edgewater homeless community? 3. Do you think the efforts of the health care organizations towards improving the lives of the homeless addicts serve any good to them, despite their co-operation? Read More