For And Against Prohibition

Weekend Libertarian ^ | June 18, 2011 | B.P. Terpstra

[reflecting]

Do you suppose that alcohol consumption only harms the consumer? Well beyond 25,000 lost each year due to drunk driving. what are the dollar numbers, born by society, of the alcoholics, the wife beaters, the derelicts and the growing stupidity of our ‘party nation’.

[jaydee770]

I would think whether prohibition failed or succeeded depends on it’s original intent. As soon as it was repealed, alcohol sales did what? Go down, stay level, skyrocket? If it did anything, it proved that people with a taste for alcohol were forced to drink discretely as they tended to dislike being arrested. Once the threat of arrest was lifted, discreteness was immediately dropped.

Look at smoking. We couldn’t buy smokes as a teenager, but many high-schoolers smoked. Discretely when there was a risk of being punished and openly otherwise. Jump to today and teen smoking is down — not because there are laws & regs against it, but because it has fallen out of fashion. No one “cool” smokes anymore. Well, at least in our area.

When it comes to tobacco, alcohol or drugs, laws may artificially reduce consumption, but it has a greater tendency to force discreteness and promote a thriving black-market. I’m not saying legislating morality is good or bad, but the “good” of the legislation is often overshadowed by the “bad” of the unintended consequences. How to better address the desired outcome is beyond me. But personal observation shows that what’s been tried so far includes some *seriously* bad unintended consequences.

[calex59]

What the f*** are you talking about? Have a problem reading do you? Maybe a few reading comprehension classes might help you. I am against prohibition, whether it be for alcohol or drugs, prohibition leads to more laws that suck our freedoms plus crime runs rampant due to the huge amounts of money capable of being made illegally.

The government has no business telling us what the f*** we can eat, smoke or drink. Plain enough for you?

Your last comment was totally idiotic, please don't make any more, you disgust me.

[Just another Joe]

I have more faith in the average American than a libertarian think tank.

I agree. The average American did not want prohibition.

[Just another Joe]

Do you suppose that alcohol consumption only harms the consumer?

I said "direct harm".

There are laws against beating your wife, or anyone else for that matter, drunk driving, etc.
Personal reponsibility should handle the rest.

BTW, I agree about the stupidity of our "party nation".

[CzarChasm]

Thanks for that entertaining strawman, AC. Much more creative than expected.

[AustralianConservative]

Actually, they did, if you studied the history. Needless, to say, I’m not for alcohol bans but oppose LSD for kids. The fundamental issue is: Anarchy or some laws?