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Peter Suderman | 12.5.2024 8:00 AM

In the years before Prohibition, antialcohol activists made two sweeping arguments for making liquor sales illegal. First, doing so was necessary to uphold public morals. Second, alcohol bans were necessary for public health.

Sound familiar?

From pandemic lockdowns to vaping bans to transparently silly soda size limits, so much of American politics today can be understood as a long-tail outgrowth of the Prohibitionist movement, a joint project of self-certain moralists and public health nannies who believe that the surest way to improve the character and vitality of a nation is by telling other people what to do—or not do.

And in far too many cases, "telling other people what to do or not do" turns out to mean "legally restricting them from doing it." In the prohibitionist mindset, that's a distinction without a difference.

Here at Reason, we oppose prohibition in all its forms. Not only because we support individual choice in just about........

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