Posted February 22, 2019
Mafwek: I think we would both agree that restriction on alcohol before the legal age is to protect children (eh, teenagers) from somebody else, not themselves; since they can become hard alcoholics after they are legally adult.
From whom then? Adults are seen as responsible for themselves. Teens want to drink booze, shops want to sell booze, why is it forbidden? Because the government decided it has to protect children and teenagers from that - their own desire.
We can also talk about the prohibition of really hard and destructive drugs like Crystal Meth. Why is it forbidden? To make it hard for people to get it and destroy their lives with it. Lift that ban and you not only eliminate the organized crime surrounding it (a problem with any form of prohibition) but you can also tax it generating income which could be used for shiny new schools or bombers...
Now we could argue that alcohol is a hard drug too and should be prohibited in the same way, and some people actually do say that. But alcohol consumption is rooted deeply in our cultural heritage and banning it... well see American history books about how well that went. And the people who decided this had the best for the people in mind, in a way.
Some laws are definitely needed and useful for protecting people from themselves. Because people are not always rational but follow their desires and urges - and peer pressure too.
Like I said, individual laws and regulations may be overdone, useless or even counter-productive. But that doesn't mean there are no laws like that which actually make sense.
Post edited February 22, 2019 by toxicTom