This was a good piece, have read both Perry's book (and thought it very insightful and had also seen some of the Australians - who should know better - take below the belt shots at it) and Scruton's book about Sexual Desire but hadn't connected the two until now. That being said, I wouldn't blame alcohol or porn or anything else limbic capitalism has to often. In my opinion the modern teleology around sex and a pervasive view that it is an individual pursuit not a communal or social one is the root of the problem. If sexual morality was pro-social - not just the shallow consent based concept where if the person says its ok then go for it no matter how unhealthy the desire being acted out is - then much of the effects found in consumption of porn, alcohol etc and sex would be solved.
Thank you for the comment! It's nicely put, although I would make one slight adjustment. The "modern teleology around sex" is not the problem because the modern view is precisely a rejection of any teleology at all. I think that the modern rejection of formal and final causes is nothing short of disastrous, but I don't know if a crash course on Aristotle is going to be more appealing to young people than pornography and alcohol are.
I don't believe Substack has a DM function yet, so apologies for the inappropriateness of the forum, but I run a members club I have Substack Series on at the moment and the next event is for people that write about culture. If you would be interested and able, you are welcome to come. I can also put your Substack details on the event page if you would like some publicity. Can view the event here:
Oh, what a good idea. Yes, I'd be happy to come - thank you for the invitation! And I think I would be foolish to turn down some publicity - thanks for the offer.
"... passed around like a spittoon"? I don't know about the places you frequent but I don't know anyone that's ever handled a spittoon, let alone passed it around.
I recently watched a documentary on the porno industry. In it they spoke with a Madam who helps procure women for the industry. The Madam spoke at length about how relatively well the women are treated but when asked if she would permit her daughter to enter the industry her response was an immediate and emphatic "No". Why? Because after a short period of time their heads get screwed and they can no longer respond to others in a "normal" manner.
A century ago in Sydney, Australia, the working man would finish his working day with several hours with his mates at the local pub. (Bear in mind what conditions people lived under during those times.) Local temperance groups decided it would be better if these men spent this time with their families and so they successfully campaigned for pubs to close at 6pm. The result became known as the "6 o'clock swill". Men would drink as much as they could in the little time available and go home "drunk as skunks".
I would rather keep my spittoon-handling experiences private.
Yes, I imagine the psychological effects of such work are devastating.
The 6 o'clock swill is a good example of how regulations can backfire. No doubt that's possible in this case, too, but I think the many government campaigns to reduce cigarette smoking have been largely successful - it's not crazy to think that something similar (even on a smaller scale) could be attempted to curb alcohol consumption.
Since you ask in the last chapter about alcohol - I think that unfortunately the genie is out of the bottle here. Alcohol is too deeply woven into out society for restriction to be feasible at this point. However, already we are seeing the young turn their backs on drink - something like a quarter of millennial & gen Z (at least in Britain where I live) are teetotal these days. Much of this will be down to environmental factors - watering holes are getting more expensive while the material prosperity of the young stagnates; the figures are also skewed by increasing numbers of youths who have migrated from Pakistan or other Muslim countries, who don't drink for obvious reasons. But I suspect some of it is down to a rise in virtuousness, much as is also behind the rise in veganism among the same age cohort.
I wouldn't restrict alcohol sales if for no other reason than politics is the art of the possible. It has often been said that if alcohol were a new drug being discovered today, it would not be made legal, and I am inclined to agree. But I certainly would spend money on PSAs and other information campaigns to raise awareness of how dangerous alcohol can be; perhaps take the approach of the anti-smoking lobby, which has been very effective at making smoking "uncool" and hence largely defeat the menace of tobacco without at any point banning it, which would have had brought its own problems such as the harms associated with forcing addicts to go cold turkey.
You make some very interesting points: I have heard that the younger generation is drinking less, though I don't know if it's because of a rise in virtue!
Alas, you're probably right about how difficult it would be to restrict alcohol sales and consumption, but your proposals (information campaigns, etc.) are worth considering. I would also suggest stricter limits on alcohol advertising.
If cheese was discovered today it also would be illegal (can't have people eating mouldy milk.)
As for smoking being uncool, obviously you don't watch TV or go to the movies. Every cool person on TV and in the movies either chain smokes or desperately needs a smoke to deal with an extreme emotion.
Obviously you haven't watched TV or movies for a couple of decades now. The only smokers in popular media in recent times have been in period shows like Mad Men.
Recent(ish) shows with cool smokers: Stranger Things; The Walking Dead; Orange is the New Black; House of Cards; Fuller House; The Bridge (Swedish version); Modern Family... And if you're sure of yourself:
Quite the opposite. I subscribe to a number of streaming services. Certainly they have taken most of the smoking out kid's shows (like sitcoms, Star Wars and Marivel superheroes) but in many contemporary shows people willingly and joyfully smoke.
This was a good piece, have read both Perry's book (and thought it very insightful and had also seen some of the Australians - who should know better - take below the belt shots at it) and Scruton's book about Sexual Desire but hadn't connected the two until now. That being said, I wouldn't blame alcohol or porn or anything else limbic capitalism has to often. In my opinion the modern teleology around sex and a pervasive view that it is an individual pursuit not a communal or social one is the root of the problem. If sexual morality was pro-social - not just the shallow consent based concept where if the person says its ok then go for it no matter how unhealthy the desire being acted out is - then much of the effects found in consumption of porn, alcohol etc and sex would be solved.
Thank you for the comment! It's nicely put, although I would make one slight adjustment. The "modern teleology around sex" is not the problem because the modern view is precisely a rejection of any teleology at all. I think that the modern rejection of formal and final causes is nothing short of disastrous, but I don't know if a crash course on Aristotle is going to be more appealing to young people than pornography and alcohol are.
I don't believe Substack has a DM function yet, so apologies for the inappropriateness of the forum, but I run a members club I have Substack Series on at the moment and the next event is for people that write about culture. If you would be interested and able, you are welcome to come. I can also put your Substack details on the event page if you would like some publicity. Can view the event here:
https://www.allminusone.org.au/event-details/substack-series-culture-and-criticism
Oh, what a good idea. Yes, I'd be happy to come - thank you for the invitation! And I think I would be foolish to turn down some publicity - thanks for the offer.
FYI, event details updated: https://www.allminusone.org.au/event-details/substack-series-culture-and-criticism.
Thank you, Dara!
"... passed around like a spittoon"? I don't know about the places you frequent but I don't know anyone that's ever handled a spittoon, let alone passed it around.
I recently watched a documentary on the porno industry. In it they spoke with a Madam who helps procure women for the industry. The Madam spoke at length about how relatively well the women are treated but when asked if she would permit her daughter to enter the industry her response was an immediate and emphatic "No". Why? Because after a short period of time their heads get screwed and they can no longer respond to others in a "normal" manner.
A century ago in Sydney, Australia, the working man would finish his working day with several hours with his mates at the local pub. (Bear in mind what conditions people lived under during those times.) Local temperance groups decided it would be better if these men spent this time with their families and so they successfully campaigned for pubs to close at 6pm. The result became known as the "6 o'clock swill". Men would drink as much as they could in the little time available and go home "drunk as skunks".
I would rather keep my spittoon-handling experiences private.
Yes, I imagine the psychological effects of such work are devastating.
The 6 o'clock swill is a good example of how regulations can backfire. No doubt that's possible in this case, too, but I think the many government campaigns to reduce cigarette smoking have been largely successful - it's not crazy to think that something similar (even on a smaller scale) could be attempted to curb alcohol consumption.
Since you ask in the last chapter about alcohol - I think that unfortunately the genie is out of the bottle here. Alcohol is too deeply woven into out society for restriction to be feasible at this point. However, already we are seeing the young turn their backs on drink - something like a quarter of millennial & gen Z (at least in Britain where I live) are teetotal these days. Much of this will be down to environmental factors - watering holes are getting more expensive while the material prosperity of the young stagnates; the figures are also skewed by increasing numbers of youths who have migrated from Pakistan or other Muslim countries, who don't drink for obvious reasons. But I suspect some of it is down to a rise in virtuousness, much as is also behind the rise in veganism among the same age cohort.
I wouldn't restrict alcohol sales if for no other reason than politics is the art of the possible. It has often been said that if alcohol were a new drug being discovered today, it would not be made legal, and I am inclined to agree. But I certainly would spend money on PSAs and other information campaigns to raise awareness of how dangerous alcohol can be; perhaps take the approach of the anti-smoking lobby, which has been very effective at making smoking "uncool" and hence largely defeat the menace of tobacco without at any point banning it, which would have had brought its own problems such as the harms associated with forcing addicts to go cold turkey.
You make some very interesting points: I have heard that the younger generation is drinking less, though I don't know if it's because of a rise in virtue!
Alas, you're probably right about how difficult it would be to restrict alcohol sales and consumption, but your proposals (information campaigns, etc.) are worth considering. I would also suggest stricter limits on alcohol advertising.
If cheese was discovered today it also would be illegal (can't have people eating mouldy milk.)
As for smoking being uncool, obviously you don't watch TV or go to the movies. Every cool person on TV and in the movies either chain smokes or desperately needs a smoke to deal with an extreme emotion.
Obviously you haven't watched TV or movies for a couple of decades now. The only smokers in popular media in recent times have been in period shows like Mad Men.
Recent(ish) shows with cool smokers: Stranger Things; The Walking Dead; Orange is the New Black; House of Cards; Fuller House; The Bridge (Swedish version); Modern Family... And if you're sure of yourself:
https://truthinitiative.org/sites/default/files/media/files/2019/03/Smoking-in-Streaming-Final-Report.pdf
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/from-the-ashes-smoking-s-curious-comeback-on-the-silver-screen-20220120-p59py5.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharysmith/2022/01/11/netflix-kept-showing-smoking-in-tv-shows-despite-2019-pledge-study-finds/?sh=78620fe86c59
Quite the opposite. I subscribe to a number of streaming services. Certainly they have taken most of the smoking out kid's shows (like sitcoms, Star Wars and Marivel superheroes) but in many contemporary shows people willingly and joyfully smoke.