Can we break the cycle from addiction to poverty?
People suffering from a drug use disorder or other addictions often also find themselves struggling with poverty as the addiction interferes with their lives. Treating addiction then is not just about the behavior itself, but also the environment of the individual. The Meta-Problem Method can help us address the issue.
Complex problems are often vague and have many possible solutions. The Meta-Problem Method may lead you far away from the dilemma that started your quest. That’s because the method forces you to clarify what you really want and what you are willing to give up. It enables you to compare objectively the possible pathways and their trade offs. It prevents you locking into solutions mode too early and then doubling down on solving a low-yield problem that does not serve your goals as well as the alternatives. At the end of this process, you will have a better understanding of your priorities and how to achieve them.
Steps in the Meta-Problem Method
Dilemma
The high-level issue you are trying to address
Reduce the number of people suffering from addiction.
Goal
The changes you want to make to address the dilemma. There are usually many options.
Supporting Goals
- Minimize the number of people suffering from addiction.
- Provide preventative support for people predisposed to addiction.
Other goals could include minimizing the number of people experiencing poverty, fewer people in prison for drug-related problems, fewer deaths from drug overdose, and minimizing the costs.
Problem Space
The set of problems you could chose to solve to advance your goals, plus the constraints that hold you back.
Example problems
- How can we minimize the number of people suffering from addiction? Maybe the problem to solve is “Which drug addiction programs work?”
- How can we support those who are predisposed to addiction? Maybe the problem to solve is “What support do people need to avoid a drug use disorder?”
There are many other potential problems to solve related to treating addiction. Each goal has many possible problems we could link to it. Are there other problems linked to these first two goals? Which options come to mind for the other goals?
High-Yield Problems
Sometimes solving one problem helps make progress towards several goals. In this step, we identify these “two-for-the-price-of-one” problems.
Which options will advance more than one goal?
- Free drug treatment programs will minimize the number of people suffering from addiction, can reduce the number of people experiencing poverty, can lower the number of drug overdose deaths, and can prevent arrests that lead to prison. However, this will not prevent people from resorting to drugs in the first place, and the circumstances that led to the initial drug use may surface again in the future.
- Safe housing can prevent a relapse for a recovering addict, minimizing suffering from addiction, preventing all the issues associated with addiction, and at a lower cost than treatment and enforcement. However, this is costly and may not address the problem that originally triggered the drug use.
There are many potential solutions that will have varying effects on the set of goals. Which alternatives improve the most important goals? How might the unknown change the right path forward? What other possible solutions are there to address the dilemma?
Problem Selection
Which of the many possible options in the high-yield problem step is the best set to address the dilemma?
- Which solutions make the most sense to reduce poverty?
- Which solutions will best address the dilemma?
- Which solutions will deliver the best outcome for the least amount of time, effort and money?
Implement, Learn and Adapt
Check continuously that you are still solving the best problem, as new information emerges.
Observe and learn as you go. As new information reveals itself, check continuously that you’re still solving the right problem.