Criminality and economic conditions

by Willem Adriaan Bonger

We understand by alcoholism the social phenomenon which consists of the chronic abuse of alcoholic beverages.[181] Before touching upon the etiology of this phenomenon we must decide the biological question, why does a man consume alcohol? Always and everywhere it has been established that the liking for narcotics is natural to man. Those who believe that human nature is inclined to evil, and that the tendency to excess is innate, find the solution of the problem very simple. They reason as follows: “by alcohol this innate desire is satisfied; man is inclined to excess,—ergo … alcoholism.” Those who deny the evil nature of man find here on the contrary the crux of the problem. For, say they, the facts are there to prove that man has not always and everywhere been intemperate; there must then be other causes than this so-called sinful instinct.

Alcoholic beverages are consumed first, because they are agreeable to the taste (at least some of them); second, and especially, because aside from the taste they have the power of awaking agreeable sensations. In his work “Der Alkoholismus” Dr. A. Grotjahn expresses himself thus upon this point: “Narcotics act … not primarily through their agreeable taste, but influence directly the cerebral cortex and awaken pleasurable sensations which are completely independent of the activity of the senses or of pleasure-producing perceptions of the outer world. There is no other means of producing pleasurable sensations independent of the perceptions [[358]]arising from the outer world, and independent of the functions of the senses. Only in this way is it to be explained that the need for the use of narcotics has attained so wide a dissemination, and struck such deep roots when once mankind had learned their use.”[182]

If alcohol is used regularly, then, to drive away disagreeable sensations, the consumption must necessarily increase if the individual wishes to attain the same psychical condition, for use continually weakens the effect.

Here, as in the case of the etiology of other social phenomena, we must treat the different causes of alcoholism separately, although it often happens that a number combine to make a man alcoholic. We shall begin with the causes which lead to alcoholism among the proletariat, for it is in this class that the abuse of alcohol is most widespread and produces the greatest ravages, first because the quality of the drinks consumed is very bad, and secondly, because alcohol has more harmful effects upon a badly nourished system.

a. There are occupations which, by their nature, lead the workmen who follow them almost inevitably to the abuse of alcohol. Dr. Grotjahn says: “The mental condition suffers when the temperature is too high or too low, more than the capacity for work. The great discomfort while at work may be removed by regulating the things which influence the temperature (clothing, housing, heating, ventilation) or the uncomfortable feelings may be blunted through copious draughts of spirituous beverages. Hence the peculiar custom of taking alcohol against great heat and great cold both, a thing which would be absurd if alcohol worked specifically against the one extreme of temperature or the other, and did not simply moderate the unpleasant sensations produced by abnormal temperatures.”[183]

In the second place come the industries in which much powder or gas are produced. To quote Dr. Grotjahn again: “The dust, which those working in the open air have at times to endure, but which those who work in closed rooms must almost always put up with, brings about, through directly irritating the mucous membrane of the mouth, a highly annoying thirst, which greatly induces the drinking of beer and brandy. We hear it on all sides from workmen who outside of working hours are entirely moderate or even abstemious, that the thirst which is excited by dust is not nearly so well quenched by water or any ‘soft drink’ as by the use of alcoholic beverages. Experience shows that in the callings which are dust-producing there is a marked tendency to beer- and brandy-drinking, and to a quick passage from [[359]]moderate to immoderate use of alcohol. This is the case with masons, carpenters, cabinet-makers, but especially with grinders and quarry-men. The production of irritating vapors in chemical works has a similar effect, but more intense than that of ordinary dust.”[184]

In the third place there are the industries in which the workmen are brought into direct contact with alcohol. Thus there are, for example, the workmen in distilleries,[185] breweries, alcohol-warehouses, etc.; then wine tasters, those who have to use alcohol in their business, and finally those whose business takes them into establishments where alcoholic drinks are sold, such as commercial travelers, and the tenants of the establishments themselves.[186]

b. The too great length of the working-day. Workers who are forced to work much longer than the human organism can stand are inclined to the abuse of alcohol for two reasons. In the first place they find in it the means of repairing temporarily the diminution of force caused by great fatigue. Since alcohol gives only a temporary increase of capacity, its continued use, and consequently its abuse, is therefore almost inevitable.[187] This is the cause of the great development of alcoholism among longshoremen, who often work for twenty-four hours or even longer at a stretch.

In the second place immoderately prolonged labor produces a veritable torture, which can be assuaged by large quantities of alcohol. Those who have an interest in having the workman toil as long as possible have always tried to prevent the shortening of the working-day by claiming that it would increase the abuse of alcohol. The facts have shown, however, that just the contrary is true. It has been proved that it is not the shortening of the working-day, but its too great extension that is one of the important causes of the abuse of alcohol. So it is not by chance that the retailers of alcoholic beverages are among the most zealous opponents of the shortening of the day.[188] [[360]]

c. Bad and insufficient nourishment. There are many workers not sufficiently nourished for the support of the body. For the purpose of removing the feeling of discomfort arising from this they make great use of alcoholic drinks. In these cases the nourishment is insufficient both objectively (considered from a physiological point of view) and subjectively (it does not satisfy the individual). Besides these there are those who are able to procure a sufficient quality of food but lack the means to vary the dishes and to replace foods that are bulky and difficult to digest (potatoes, bread, cereals, etc.) by others less bulky but more nutritious (especially meat). The persons who rely upon persuasion in combating alcoholism, fix the attention upon the enormous sums expended for spirituous drinks, and then figure how much bread, how many beds, and other useful things could have been bought with this money. All this is well and good, only in reasoning in this way they make the capital error of representing a workman as a sort of machine who says to himself: “I do not earn enough for the support of my family—let us not buy alcohol, then, for it is harmful but rather eat more potatoes. It is true that the discomfort will persist, but … I shall at least be nourished as well as possible.” However, since the working-man is, no more than other men, a being who is content to reason, but who feels, the calculations of these Utopists fall to the ground.