The question I’m discussing here is not “is alcohol net good for society?” but “is it good for an individual to drink?”. See the Zvi and Tyler comments for the position I’m arguing against.
(I’m open to the point that alcohol is net negative for society / the world. In fact, I think that’s probably true. Regarding individual outcomes, I think:
Using alcohol is on average bad for individuals.
The average (mean) alcohol outcome is heavily skewed by the really bad ~10% tail, i.e. alcoholics and reckless drunks.
For the other 90% of people, using alcohol is on average good.
Using alcohol is on median is basically a wash.
If you consider only the people that enjoy the effects of alcohol, using alcohol is on median good.)
The question I’m discussing here is not “is alcohol net good for society?” but “is it good for an individual to drink?”. See the Zvi and Tyler comments for the position I’m arguing against.
(I’m open to the point that alcohol is net negative for society / the world. In fact, I think that’s probably true. Regarding individual outcomes, I think:
Using alcohol is on average bad for individuals.
The average (mean) alcohol outcome is heavily skewed by the really bad ~10% tail, i.e. alcoholics and reckless drunks.
For the other 90% of people, using alcohol is on average good.
Using alcohol is on median is basically a wash.
If you consider only the people that enjoy the effects of alcohol, using alcohol is on median good.)