ABSTRACT
The logic involved in the aspect of the recovery ethic is part of a quite complex network of relations among and between ideas and their consequences. The logic is interwoven with, and sheds a great deal of light upon, both liberation psychotherapy's impact upon US culture and society and the consequences of becoming co-dependent. This chapter is devoted to a fuller examination of these points because to do these various themes justice separately and to also show clearly how they are interwoven with one another requires a more extensive discussion. The salient point about the ironies in this context is that the "triumph of the therapeutic"—with liberation psychotherapy cast in the starring role—replays once again the same disparity between the intentions driving cultural change and the consequences of that cultural change. Liberation psychotherapy has never placed much emphasis on the norm of benevolence; instead, it heavily stressed the pivotal importance of self-determination.
