Introduction to Manufacturing Victims

Introduction to Manufacturing Victims

It is not news to say that psychology has become an influential force in our culture, or that our society is becoming more and more filled with people who consider themselves victims of one sort or another.

No matter where we turn, we find the effects of a psychology industry. Its influence extends into all aspects of our lives, telling us how to work, to live, to love and even to play. We are confronted by psychologists expounding their theories on the endless list of programs from Oprah and Larry King, to the news journals and tabloids, to the 're-caps' of celebrity trials or to the discussions of post traumatic stress disorders after disasters.

Meanwhile, people who are anxious, a bit unhappy or just bored are turning more and more to psychology services. Some do this through weekly appointments; some do it by frequenting seminars and workshops; some do it by endlessly buying books on 'abuse,' 'adult children,' 'trauma and stress,' and 'recovery;' all in the pursuit of an elusive experience held out, like a candy or a pot of gold, by the psychology industry.

What is news is that psychology is manufacturing most of these victims, that it is doing this with motives based on power and profit, and that the industry turns these people into dependent 'users' with no escape from their problems.

The Recovered Memory/False Memory controversy which now rages is only the tip of the ice-berg of a far larger business in fabricated victims. While we have become used to hearing about all sorts of victims, from those of sexual harassment and verbal abuse, to those of 'dysfunctional families', divorce, academic discrimination, even vacation cancellation and home renovation, we have not yet paid attention to the psychological techniques which are being used to create and cater to these 'victims.' Nor have we noticed how it is the psychologists who are benefiting in the end from this victim-making, while the industry grows in power and affluence, as it creates a market dependent on its services.

Psychologists present themselves as concerned and caring healers working for the good of their clients, but the effects are damaged people, divided families, distorted justice, destroyed companies, and a weakened nation. This book describes the psychological industry: its sales and marketing, its public image and private motives, its power and weakness, as it manufactures victims.

Manufacturing Victims is a "must read" for anyone who is a 'victim'; a friend or relative of a 'victim'; someone blamed or accused by a 'victim'; or interested in or considering psychotherapy. Find out what the Psychology Industry won't tell you and doesn't want you to know.