Quote Originally Posted by Peter View Post
No. I am saying that the notion that those benefits necessarily make the world better is a value judgement that any scientists would run away from. And god almighty, do you really need me to run you through some of the catastrophic side effects of drinking? From alcoholism, domestic violence and the social cost of binge drinking in every town centre every weekend to the sheer cost of policing, the number of date rapes linked to alcohol etc etc etc.....

Spend a Friday night in Newcastle and give me a ring at 3 in the morning. Lets see whether your hypothesis is still so unshakeable....
It's not catastrophic. Drinking is an overall benefit. All the people you're talking about there are gainfully employed, paying taxes and so on. After all, boozing isn't free, and neither is policing and social working and whatnot.