But, there is some truth to that. There are people out there that are "deadbeat losers" and they aren't alcoholics or drug users.
And, something else to think about, not everybody is geared to be happy living what might be considered the norm of our current society - debt strapped to houses, cars, credit cards, college education. My brother-in-law is geared to go to work welding bits of metal together all day, stop off at the gas station where all his friends meet and play checkers, drink beer, and talk for a couple of hours before going home to dinner and an evening with the wife and kids. On the weekends, he likes to drink even more beer and he fixes things around the house and mows the yard. Every couple of years he likes to take a big vacation and go home up north to visit his family around the holidays, drink vast quantities of beer, and maybe do some deer hunting. His life is no less productive than a "successful" person who still doesn't contribute anymore to the planet or the history of the world than any other consumer.