Psychiatrists say that mentally ill people should be coerced because they
may harm themselves or others.

http://www.fff.org/freedom/0490c.asp

"The demand for, and expectation of, governmental protection from what is,
in effect, the temptation to take drugs is, in my opinion, emblematic of
our collective belittling of ourselves as children unable to control
themselves, and of our collective glorification of the state as our
benevolent parent whose duty is to control its childlike subjects."

I'm slightly puzzled by this quote. Does it mean that Szasz thinks that it
is legitimate for parents to coerce their children?

If so, why? Children are just as capable of expressing their wishes as many
adults who psychiatrists have labelled as mentally ill. Indeed, Szasz is,
rightly, not in favour of coercing mental patients who are not capable of
holding down a job because they have been imprisoned in mental hospitals
for a long time and have no idea how the real world works. So why would it
be legitimate to coerce children but not adults who lack knowledge of the
real world for reasons other than being young?

Alan


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