There are some comments arguing that alcohol should not be banned by the government, or should remain part of society, but this article is about individual choice, not bans. Our World In Data has a good map of lifelong abstinence rate among people 15+, and the proportion ranges from 99% (Kuwait) to 4% (Luxembourg). This shows that civilization can survive and prosper with many teetotalers and with few. There is no Chesterton’s Fence here, nothing would break if this article somehow convinced a billion people to stop drinking alcohol (it won’t).
I don’t often see this behavior on LessWrong. Don’t Eat Honey commenters didn’t explain that a government ban on honey would normalize organized crime (it would). Maybe because of the discussion of the South African ban as a natural experiment. Perhaps because of the mention of masking and social distancing during the COVID pandemic, which were both subject to government enforcement in many places. Could be politics is the mind-killer. The article would benefit from a disclaimer that it’s not advocating for government enforcement, given this misunderstanding.
There are some comments arguing that alcohol should not be banned by the government, or should remain part of society, but this article is about individual choice, not bans. Our World In Data has a good map of lifelong abstinence rate among people 15+, and the proportion ranges from 99% (Kuwait) to 4% (Luxembourg). This shows that civilization can survive and prosper with many teetotalers and with few. There is no Chesterton’s Fence here, nothing would break if this article somehow convinced a billion people to stop drinking alcohol (it won’t).
I don’t often see this behavior on LessWrong. Don’t Eat Honey commenters didn’t explain that a government ban on honey would normalize organized crime (it would). Maybe because of the discussion of the South African ban as a natural experiment. Perhaps because of the mention of masking and social distancing during the COVID pandemic, which were both subject to government enforcement in many places. Could be politics is the mind-killer. The article would benefit from a disclaimer that it’s not advocating for government enforcement, given this misunderstanding.