Does addiction actually exist? It’s an issue we’ve examined before at The Spectator and I’m delighted to announce it will be the topic of our next debate. On the 21 November at the Royal Institution in London, we’ll be looking at whether addiction is really a disease or simply a form of behaviour we need to find a way of controlling.
We’ve gathered an expert panel who will be tackling this question, all of whom have strong personal experiences to back up their positions. Arguing for the motion will be regular Spectator contributor, Daily Telegraph columnist and recovering alcoholic Damian Thompson. His book The Fix examines how addiction is taking over our lives. In the Spectator last year, Damian described how we are entering the age of the addict:
‘There’s no obvious solution to the globalisation of addiction, but it’s not unreasonable to locate its roots in a particular spiritual malaise. One way of looking at addiction is to see it as the progressive replacement of people by things.
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