Prohibition is clearly a failed policy but that doesn’t mean that policies which restrict alcohol consumption are all equally stupid. There are still good arguments for treating alcohol consumption as a public health issue, and this would be a stronger piece if it weren’t also riddled with contempt for pandemic mitigation procedure.
>the idea of lockdowns, with forceful human separation, mandatory masking, and the practical abolition of all large gatherings, fun, art, and travel, seems even more sadistically preposterous than alcohol prohibition.
Why useless? Obviously they're different things but the negative effects of lockdowns and other restrictions aren't obvious and direct. There will be chain effects on economic activity, wealth, and all the human life and happiness than comes with those. There are pros and cons of both ways. Just like mitigation of climate change, it's a balance. Anyone who sees it as obviously right and wrong isn't thinking.
Deadliness is important here, not contagiousness. Both covid and alcoholism are deadly; and scientific consensus says both can be stopped if we abstain from some small things we enjoy
