[ExI] A Small Request

[Lee Corbin]

Fred writes

> First it should be pointed out that there were instances
> of "involuntary commitment" in the sense that many persons
> were in jails or prisons

well, yes, but for "our" protection, not theirs!

> rather than institutions specifically for their treatment.
> Secondly it was in the mid 1800s that many of these
> institutions began to be constructed. There was a
> reform movement began in the 1840s to construct
> asylums so that persons commonly classified as
> "mentally ill" could be treated rather than left in the
> usually deplorable conditions of the jails.

But who was to pay for it? As always, that's the key
question. What has unquestionably changed in the
20th century is that the government is now seen by
many as the default fixer and default payer of all things.

The recommended libertarian position is usually to
allow a *non-entitlement* charity to supply this role.
Besides, people act differently, as you know, when
the recipient of charity instead of entitlement. But
sorry,  I digress. 

Lee

> One of the leaders of this movement was Dorthea Dix.
> 
>> And this change arose, I think, because of
>> the anonymity of urban life, when in one sense people could
>> become such complete individuals that they could no longer
>> in any way to depend on family or friends, if that was their desire.