Beastimmung
Misanthropic Flâneur
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2024
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Alcohol isn't just some random drug, it has some very interesting social effects:
- it disinhibits and is thus a social lubricant
- it reduces risk aversion and enables young people to have formative experiences
- and most importantly: it is a kind of "truth serum", especially for young people
This combination of effects has a profound impact on our society. For example, I generally have much less trust in people with whom I have never been drunk. Many people feel this way, but most are not aware of it.
"Yeah, I know him well, I can trust him..."Without asking themselves WHY they know him so well.Now, you can’t just give unimpressed people a van full of booze and hope that they become best friends
What happens next is not nice and we see it in Indian reservations or with Muslim immigrants at the main train station.Alcohol must be deeply embedded in the culture. And that is what it is in European cultures.
In the various European cultures, there are extensive, mostly unwritten rules for a wide variety of occasions regarding what and how much to drink. These rules not only ensure that each "participant" reaches the right level.
It is equally important that they make the level subconsciously estimable for the other participants.The most important effect of alcohol - building trust - only then unfolds its true potential.Alcohol is a foundation of the European high-trust society.
- it disinhibits and is thus a social lubricant
- it reduces risk aversion and enables young people to have formative experiences
- and most importantly: it is a kind of "truth serum", especially for young people
This combination of effects has a profound impact on our society. For example, I generally have much less trust in people with whom I have never been drunk. Many people feel this way, but most are not aware of it.
"Yeah, I know him well, I can trust him..."Without asking themselves WHY they know him so well.Now, you can’t just give unimpressed people a van full of booze and hope that they become best friends
What happens next is not nice and we see it in Indian reservations or with Muslim immigrants at the main train station.Alcohol must be deeply embedded in the culture. And that is what it is in European cultures.
In the various European cultures, there are extensive, mostly unwritten rules for a wide variety of occasions regarding what and how much to drink. These rules not only ensure that each "participant" reaches the right level.
It is equally important that they make the level subconsciously estimable for the other participants.The most important effect of alcohol - building trust - only then unfolds its true potential.Alcohol is a foundation of the European high-trust society.
