We're up to our ears in addict-making processes, and we can't take two steps out of bed without running into them. And they do get us. Only the weapons industry rivals it. Sex can be another process addiction, but it's not one society looks kindly on, however much advertising promotes insatiable and manipulative sex as the solution to life's challenges. Gambling is another old addiction, coming back now with a vengeance with all the state lotteries, especially among young people.
Religion turns into obsession.
Science turns into dogma, as if collecting enough facts will make up for a narrow worldview. They're the invisible killers, the ones we don't suspect, but the ones that made millionaire Ivan Boesky raid savings and loans to become a billionaire , leaving in his wake thousands who saw their life-savings disappear. Nor was Boesky alone in his sickness. Since the '80s, we've witnessed an army of greed-addicted corporate raiders, who made the jobs and pension funds of millions vanish overnight. Process addictions aren't limited to movers and shakers, though.