…if it is a time-bound prohibition, maybe in the order of a few weeks, so society can rethink about their consumption habits.

Indefinite prohibition, of the kind that was amended in the US constitution, denies the human desire to consume alcohol and pretend it can be legislated away. A cursory reading of the Wikipedia article on the capital-P Prohibition showed lasting effects in alcohol consumption (I guess, good in the sense that there’s changes in domestic abuse patterns, for example?) and organized crime (bad, with Al Capone and people like him)

  • cardboardboxfort@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    8 days ago

    Incorrect.

    Prohibition was actually a success.

    1. Prohibitionist had campaigned on ending a serious issue in every town and city in the United States, drunkards running off with their weekly paycheck and blowing it all in the saloon in one night. This left their wive and kids nothing to spend for food, clothing, etc. Alcohol consumption per capita fell and never fully rebounded after prohibition. Many of these little saloons/taverns had went under and didn’t reappear post-prohibition. Though alcoholism is an ongoing problem historians widely agree prohibition did in fact lower the rates and frequency of drinking.

    2. Alcohol was not totally illegal. Beer companies transitioned to beer making kit companies and plenty of American’s made their own beer, which was totally legal to consume. Same for wine. Prohibition didn’t prohibit personal, private consumption of light alcoholic beverages. And hard liquor was still available to those who could get a doctor to agree they needed it for medicinal reasons.

    3. Organized crime. Forms of organized criminal organizations have existed long before America and long before prohibition. Many of the gangs you think of that are tied to prohibition were just criminals taking advantage of the times they were in. They’d had engaged in some other crime had booze still been legal. And also keep in mind some of those famous criminals, like Bonnie and Clyde, were not booze runners but were just outlaws. If anything, the rise in popularity of criminals during this time period owe more to the proliferation of radio broadcasts (news) hyping up their crimes.

    Oh and some of American’s favorite families ran illegal booze, like the Kennedys. Not everyone moving hooch was Al Capone shooting up their competition.

    Prohibition was overall successful and ultimately wasn’t as terrible as commonly conveyed. Likely because up until recently every generation post-prohibition has been booze lovers. Now that younger generations are shunning alcohol I think we’ll see the pro’s and con’s of prohibition being reevaluated by… ah hm…more sober minds.