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One Ross Fitzgerald wrote “[I]n the 21st century one disturbing trend is an exponential increase, among teenagers in Australia, in out-of-control drinking, and especially of binge drinking in teenage girls.” (2006) Debate over alcohol and its related problem in Australia has ensued for a good number of years now. Yet, come the jolly seasons of Christmas, New Year, Easter or what have you, the lack of spirituality in the West is ‘toasted’ to with the best of wines and alcoholic beverages one could lay their hands on. Even chocolates are laced with the deadly poison that alcohol is. Booze oozes all throughout these ‘festive seasons’ and unrestricted to such events, we find alcohol taking centre stage in almost any event in Western societies; be they sporting or even charity events sponsored by alcohol producing companies, school break-up parties or work functions.
The indulgence in alcohol is in abundance in Western Nations and the effects of such indulgence are nothing but a disastrous decay of society, felt at all levels. David Templeman, chief executive officer of the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA) in an article in November 2007 noted the following findings from the ADCA’s studies: • 3,000 deaths per annum occur in Australia due to alcohol
• some 10 000 others per annum need ongoing medical treatment through alcohol-related harm
• annual cost in alcohol-related absenteeism is some 7.5 million working days
• annual economic impact of $15.3 billion due to alcohol-misuse/abuse These numbers would, presumably, not include road tolls resulting from drink-driving and deaths, disabilities and injuries from alcohol induced crimes of violence during the peak alcohol consumption seasons. Mr. Templeman has called for warning labels to be placed on alcoholic beverages, similar to those on cigarette packets. But such a call would be a far cry from a comprehensive approach to solving the problems identified by Mr. Templeman. And that is simply because alcohol consumption is deeply rooted in Western societies; a deep rootedness that stems right from the very core of the West’s laissez faire ideology; that which is Capitalism, effeminately championed at the individual level as the ‘love of personal freedom’. Australia’s Indigenous population problem; The West’s solution – the disease argument - clinics and counselling Indeed alcohol related problems in Western societies are far greater than what meets the eye. In Australia the most prominent example of the social degradation that alcohol brings is seen in the crises facing the indigenous population in the Northern Territory. Drunkenness resulted in such sadistic behaviour that young girls have been pack-raped and even infants and the elderly have not escaped torturous murder, which, in many cases have been committed by their own family members. Unemployment, poverty, pornography and child prostitution has shown its ugly face in the strife-torn region, which is primarily dominated by the isolated indigenous population. The Australian Government found the situation so dire and out of control that it had to mobilise its military to secure the region and impose a total ban on alcohol consumption by indigenous people; an approach that is hypocritical at best given that in the Government’s own work places there are no ‘zero tolerance’ policies as regards alcohol consumption. Further evidence of the hypocrisy is seen in the fact that there was no ban on ‘pubs’ or bars from operating in the troubled region. Even from a purely capitalist stand point, controlling consumption without addressing supply shows gross insincerity in any desire to provide a balanced and comprehensive solution to a problem; and then of course there is that question about the sincerity of a Government having its citizens’ best interests at heart. Arguably the pubs and bars were not allowed to sell to the indigenous people. But, putting aside the racist slur behind such a policy, that left open the loophole for non-indigenous people to buy alcohol on behalf of the indigenous people and supply same to them. That very loop-hole saw two Australian soldiers guilty of violating the act which was sought to be prohibited; the very soldiers that were deployed to solve the problem itself became complicit in furthering the problem. The actions of the Australian Government in the Northern Territory was yet another common capitalist cliché that ‘it is sufficient for one to be seen to be doing’ something about a problem – a capitalist notion that ultimately alleviates individuals, society and the State from accountability. And of course with the federal elections looming it added to the now ousted Howard government's political point-scoring stunt. Needless to say, that was not the main sling that flung the outgoing Government from office. The West has for long struggled with alcohol and its related issue of alcoholism, finding it difficult to condone its consumption on one hand and yet disallowing its abuse, or in fact use, due to its side effects, on the other hand. Debate between factions that consider alcoholism as a disease, not giving credence to the cause and effect theory, and factions that consider alcoholism a symptom of the main problem directly connected to the consumption of alcohol has seen numerous policies and standards being adopted at fragmented levels of society. Yet a complete solution is still wanting. Much of the debate has depended upon scientific evidences surrounding alcoholism and it would be an interesting fact finding mission to see how many of these scientific researches have actually been funded by alcohol producing companies. After all, they are the ultimate profiteers of alcohol consumption in any capitalist society. The unending debate has led the West into self-denial mode with resort to alcoholic clinics, counselling institutions and support groups as plug fix solutions. These institutionalised ‘Dr. Feel Good’ houses serve to deal with the symptoms of the problem instead of getting to the crux of the issue. The individuals that enter the clinics and counselling sessions only find themselves returning to the very main stream society after their ‘feel good’ sessions where nothing has changed, alcohol is still aplenty and the temptation to indulge in it again and again seizes them by their desires. No real solution is provided. Capitalism’s failure The failure of the West to deal with the problem of alcohol can only be blamed on the ideology it espouses – Capitalism, under which individual freedom is the goal and the pursuit of amusement becomes the primary objective of one’s existence. With the ‘me first’ ethos underpinning all aspects of approaching life itself, nothing is seen as a problem unless it is a cost to society, and that too only when it is quantifiable in dollar terms. Even then, alarm bells do not start ringing until the amount is of a high dollar value. Measurability in dollar terms spans a wide range of factors including compensation cases, welfare costs, and rehabilitation costs. Problems are solved only if those costs can be controlled. Thus fiscal measures to resolving problems under Capitalism are the only possible option. This is again apparent in the ADCA’s proposal to solve Australia’s alcohol problem which are as follows: - increasing of alcohol tax rates
- government regulated advertising & marketing of alcohol restriction of underage drinking in observing through “the use of taxation policies by Australian governments to drive down rates of underage intoxication”
- restriction on the issuing of liquor licences to control the market for supplies In proposing the above, the ADCA admits that the measures will only be useful in “reducing the number of drinks consumed” and “discourage excessive or binge drinking”. Therefore alcohol itself is not seen as the problem; rather the excessive use of it is seen as the problem. Any rational mind should be able to see that use or excessive use emanates from human behaviour, which goes to show that addressing use or excessive use is akin to saying that the problem exists with people not with the product itself. Such a notion goes against the ADCA’s own statement that “alcohol is not an ordinary commodity, and should not be treated as one”. For if alcohol were a commodity singled out for control measures, then why address human behaviour towards it instead of the commodity itself?
As a side issue, were one to assess the ADCA’s proposed measures in terms of pure capitalist economic theory, it is akin to saying that alcohol is now a luxury commodity and only the rich upper class society who can afford it will be able to consume it. That is how consumption taxes are used to control spending pattern, or ‘buyer behaviour’, in capitalist societies. Though such an argument is sound in terms of economic theory it still does not solve the problem and in fact raises the question; “Does that not simply shift the burden of the problem to another end of society instead of addressing the problem itself?” The contradiction in the Capitalist approach to solve the problem is very visible. Its typical supply/ demand approach to solving problems has left people, probably genuinely concerned, in a catch 22 situation; simply because controlling supply or demand of alcohol leaves unaddressed whether alcohol itself is the problem and a 100% ban on alcohol will result in a huge negative socio-economic impact as alcohol provides a fundamental source of entertainment and the alcohol industry provides employment and income for much of a capitalist nation. There is no doubt that after decades of trying to address the alcohol issue, Capitalism has found comfort in resorting to the ‘compromise’ means of providing solution to problems; the very basis upon which Capitalism was founded. No lessons have been learnt from their forefathers by today’s Western Capitalist thinkers. Had they delved into their own history they would’ve found that the Prohibition Era of the 1920s in the USA, imposing a zero tolerance approach, with a 100% ban on alcohol, saw nothing but more chaos - creating underground gangs, prostitution, and illegal manufacture and trade of alcohol. It was only the fear of losing out on the profits that led the US government of that time to lift the ban and adopt a gradual approach to addressing the problem. The same gradual approach has been adopted by many countries in the West; an approach that has left its citizens still ailing with the problem of alcohol and its effects. The very fact that consumer behaviour is being addressed through fiscal means instead of the core of the problem, that is, alcohol itself, lends support to the argument that there is an intellectual void in the Capitalist ideology. Capitalism’s resort to fiscal means to affect the minds and behaviours of the user by raising prices of the commodity shows the lack of intellectual depth inherent in the ideology. That is simply because a deep look at the human mindset would reveal that it is the belief system one holds that urges one to fulfil one’s instincts. Under Capitalism that belief system is the ‘love for personal freedom’ which leaves one to their own desires as to how, when and where to fulfil his/ her needs. There is no room for accountability under Capitalism and as such it is the very cause of the failure to address any human problem. The desire to consume alcohol is connected to the desire to seek ultimate amusement and it is a flawed approach to suppress such desires with fiscal measures on the one hand whilst encouraging the behaviour on the other hand. Capitalism’s intellectual void is indeed the reason for its failure. Islam’s “no nonsense” Panacea Throughout history the craze for inebriants has been part of many civilisations except of course the Islamic Civilisation. Whether it was retsina in Greece, todi in India, saki in Japan or, in fact, khamr in pre-Islamic Arabia, intoxicants formed part of ordinary consumption in everyday life and even religious rituals. The very same social ills connected to intoxicants we see today existed in every age, era and society. Only Islam successfully brought the ‘zero tolerance’ panacea to the Arabs and saw it successfully implemented in Arabia and then to the wider Muslim population under the Khilafah, over more than 1200 years of Islamic rule. Every adherent of Islam understood the order and humbly submitted. Consumption and supply of intoxicants was declared a crime by the Shariah which also imposed upon the Islamic State to deal with it through the Punishment System of Islam. There was and is no room for argument that alcohol or alcoholism is a disease nor is there any room for a debate as to its harm or benefit to the human being. In the ‘no nonsense’ approach of Islam, both the consumption of alcohol and supply of alcohol is outlawed without resorting to fiscal measures to solve the problem. The Qur’an states the legal position unequivocally: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلاَمُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ "O you who believe! Intoxicants and games of chance and (sacrificing to) stones set up and (dividing by) arrows are only an uncleanness, the Shaitan's work; shun it therefore that you may be successful." [TMQ 5:90] Thus codified for the Muslims and the Islamic State is the prohibition of all forms of intoxicants, completely uprooting the problem from its source. No distinction is made between the common person and the elite who may be able to control their use of the product or the affluent who may be able to afford it at a higher price as a luxury item or the ruler who may appear to be in a position to over-ride the law, for hand in hand with the divine prohibition is the punishment system that deals with perpetrators and which is to be imposed by the ruler, who is to be held accountable were he to sway from its application. Of course to submit to such orders may be dismissed as the brainwashing of masses under the guises of some spiritual ‘whiff whaff’. To fall for such a dismissal would be the folly of ones understanding that is required of the core of a human being’s psyche. Anyone, serious enough to address a problem, cannot afford to be so superficial. Not when it comes to submission to a higher being. This submission is no ordinary one, for it requires complete exhaustion of the human intellect in arriving at the decision to wilfully do so. Ironically in the alcoholic clinics in the West, such as Australia’s Alcoholics Anonymous, “members” are taught that they need to resort to some sort of higher power to deal with their craving for alcohol – be it their inner will, self-esteem or even the love of family. Capitalist societies’ resort to such institutions and seemingly mental therapy techniques is yet further evidence of an ideology devoid of any intellectual comprehensiveness to deal with the alcohol problem. It all depends on our sincerity towards solving a problem and of course the intellectual level we aspire to possess. When viewed as a symptom, alcoholism or in fact any problem will continuously lead mankind in search of a solution. The mere fact that Capitalist Nations today have to resort to controlling buyer behaviour, clinics and counselling sessions for people with alcohol problems shows that there is a recognition that the problem is in the minds of the people; their thoughts; their intellect. Islam dealt with that by awakening the intellect of mankind to the recognition that there is a greater being; The Creator, from Whose command does life begin and end and thus His command is supreme, requiring intellectual submission and the reverence of one’s soul. Capitalism does not offer nor encourage such an enlightened approach to life and life’s problems and hence is prone to continual flaws. If Western societies are sincere about their concerns for alcohol and its related problems then it is time they shed their decadent ideological cloak of Capitalism and engaged in a search for an alternative ideology; one that will provide a complete panacea; a no ‘non-sense’ approach to solving man’s problems; from ground zero of society right up to the top. 1. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/09/2086961.htm
2. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/19/2122342.htm
3. See ABC’s Four Corners program transcript (Battling the Booze) http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s1851571.htm 27 March 2008
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