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   Some societies prefer strong individual rights and others prefer a strong state that tells them what to do.

That sounds like a false dichotomy. It isn't a choice between institutionalizing people or leaving them to fend for themselves entirely. Whether private or public, the choices made on this spectrum absolutely do reflect on the society making them.



> It isn't a choice between institutionalizing people or leaving them to fend for themselves entirely.

I didn't say that it is a binary choice of either forcing them into a psychiatric ward or letting them rot on the streets.

One can offer persons in such situations help in different ways, which they are of course free to reject.

> Whether private or public, the choices made on this spectrum absolutely do reflect on the society making them.

No, it does not reflect in an _absolute_ or _general_ way on the society, it is only one specific feature.

That's why I cite the strong individual rights in the next sentence.

If a person rejects any help and is no threat to anyone then it is none of your or anyone else's business if he ruins his life.

There's no psychiatric ward, jail or Gulag awaiting such a person to "mentally correct" him.




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