Are psychologist liable to become mere instruments of the ruling class?

-- Barry Poole (bazzap@hotmail.com), September 04, 2002

Answers

I'd refine the question a bit in order to find the relevant literature. Thomas Szasz's classic arguments in The Myth of Mental Illness and his other works would be one version of "yes, psychiatry enforces the values of the ruling class." Another aspect of this is the way that research funding reflects values of the ruling class: congress has a great deal to do, in the long run, with determining which studies are funded. John Burnham's recent paper at APA, on deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, also addressed this issue. You might also examine the discussions on political correctness, and how psychology is involved in that. Another angle is to ask if psychologists typically align themselves with the powerful: current debates about prescription privileges for psychologists, and whether to create interpersonal/relational alternatives to the DSM are other instances of that--the medical profession is powerful, and thus a "ruling class", and some psychologists choose to ally with that power even when theoretically and philosophically it makes no sense to do so. So ... a complex question.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), September 04, 2002.