ABOUT THE EDITOR:
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Hi, my Name is Joe Covey, and I'm the Editor for Science. I am a senior at Corner Canyon, and I am a PTSA officer, in the chamber choir, and on the track team.
I love Cars, music, sports, and I want to be a mechanical engineer or a car mechanic. Some of my favorite sports teams are BYU for football and REAL Salt Lake/Barcelona for soccer. One of my favorite music artists is Kid Cudi, but his 2000s to 2010s. I am currently working on 2 Volkswagen Beetles and love to rock climb. |
The harms of modern alcohol
Written by: Jake Bunker
11/2/25
11/2/25
Our relationship with alcohol is one of the most dangerous habits our society has accepted, and looking back at ancient customs might offer a way to reset that relationship. For ages, human societies replaced drinking with rituals, ceremonies, and social bonds rather than as a means of escape. In those earlier eras, alcohol was typically weak, often fermented beverages around 2 to 6 percent by volume, and communal norms guided how and when people drank. Today, the alcohol available to us is far stronger, and many people drink in private, disconnected places, a shift that appears to amplify the risks.
Credit: The Italian Tribune
To borrow ideas from ancient practice is not to favor the past, but to reclaim some of the structure and meaning lost in modern drinking culture. For example, setting clear social boundaries around alcohol use, when to drink, with whom, and in what setting, mirrors how ancient societies managed alcohol’s power. “There is an association between the presence of alcohol and higher political complexity, but the effect is rather small,” says evolutionary anthropologist Václav Hrnčíř. Focusing less on the strength of the drink and more on the act of sharing, connecting, and celebrating community means alcohol is less like a lonely coping tool and more like a meaningful participation in community. Many scholars point out, when people drink in social, celebratory ways, they are less likely than those who drink in isolation to develop serious problems.
Putting this into practice today could look like selecting lower‑alcohol options, enacting rules around drinking (such as no solo drinks during stressful times) and re‑introducing companions or trusted friends to guide the social experience. In effect, we would be reclaiming alcohol’s older cultural role—a symbol of cooperation rather than detachment. Over time, those small shifts may reduce the harms associated with alcohol, by realigning how we engage with it.
Ancient customs remind us that alcohol needs not to dominate our lives. Instead, it can become part of a structured, communal, and meaningful practice. If we reset our habits to reflect that legacy, we may find a healthier relationship with alcohol, rather than a destructive one.
Putting this into practice today could look like selecting lower‑alcohol options, enacting rules around drinking (such as no solo drinks during stressful times) and re‑introducing companions or trusted friends to guide the social experience. In effect, we would be reclaiming alcohol’s older cultural role—a symbol of cooperation rather than detachment. Over time, those small shifts may reduce the harms associated with alcohol, by realigning how we engage with it.
Ancient customs remind us that alcohol needs not to dominate our lives. Instead, it can become part of a structured, communal, and meaningful practice. If we reset our habits to reflect that legacy, we may find a healthier relationship with alcohol, rather than a destructive one.
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Credit: MK Library
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