Did prison just replace mental hospitals?
7 days ago
- #homelessness
- #mental health
- #incarceration
- The Economist's 2013 chart, based on Bernard Harcourt's 2011 article, recently went viral, sparking debates on mental health and incarceration.
- Progressive and conservative interpretations of the chart differ, with progressives advocating for treatment over punishment and conservatives suggesting coercive institutionalization for the homeless.
- The author agrees with providing mental health and substance abuse treatment to convicts and coercive treatment for chronically homeless individuals with addiction.
- The chart's symmetry is misleading; the prison population differs demographically from historical mental hospital patients, being younger and more male.
- Incarceration rates have declined since 2008 without a corresponding increase in crime or institutionalization of the mentally ill.
- The relationship between incarceration and crime is bidirectional, and the link to mental health issues is less direct than the chart suggests.
- Understanding Harcourt's original argument is crucial to interpreting the chart accurately.