Dusting Ourselves Off and Starting Anew

Abstract

Chapters One-Eight constitute a comprehensive critique of psychiatry— indeed, of the entire “mental health” system—and beyond that, a call to action. One conclusion that has already been reached is that the institution of psychiatry must go. Minimally, that is, it must not in any way be supported by the state, whether economically, legally, or discursively. What relates to this, in the long run, the larger regime of ruling known as the mental health system must be replaced, superseded, rendered obsolete.

I keep going back to this concept of what it might look like if we lost everything we have now, if we lost all of our electricity, if we lost all of our internet, if we lost our ability to communicate with everyone—we would be thinking about how to build our lives by looking at the people who live in the houses next to us, getting together, working together, making sure that everyone has enough to survive, and those people who have certain skills working in those certain skills for the benefit of small communities. You know if we went back to that communal way of living, there would be far less distress to start off with.

—From interview with Brenda LeFrançois