On alcohol (with Marx)

From since time immemorial our society has had intimate relations with alcohol: its been an important part of our recreation. I had a note of surprise on myself when I once remarked to a friend: “G. so many people drink in Kathmandu, man. Every night there are people all over the world drinking alcohol. Getting tipsy and drunk .”  

“Yes”, he replies with depth, after some thought.

There are those times when one drinks to celebrate, and there are other when consciously or unconsciously we are all trying escape. Marx relates this human desire to capitalism, of course. It is a thought that is distinctly impressed in my mind even though I haven’t read much of manifestos. An essay I had read long ago covered the isolation and dissatisfaction that capitalism can bring to mankind.  The complex and detailed structures of a capitalistic society, apparently take out the satisfaction of creative creation in work and isolates people.  We start to work because we have to, not because we would really want to. Then we all relate to some kind of escape from our realities and seek alcohol.

To some extent this might be true. But even people outside of capitalism (the little tribes, politically untouched villages, nooks and corners, North Korea) drink. National geographic has captured even the most isolated tribes looking for recreation in alcohol and herbs. Surely alcohol is not just escape. Besides the entertainment of relaxation, it’s also a fantastic conversation catalyst. It makes friends as well as enemies and brings out so much of man, that was not there.

I am also curious about what it is about alcohol that brings out a person so much more vividly. I am sure science has figured out the chemicals and their reactions that explode fireworks in our brains. But my question is, what is it that we hide to have ourselves be brought out by something else? I understand there are many gradients and degrees to this: some people jolly out or get instinctive without a drop of alcohol, while in others there is a greater need and it brings a sharper contrast after consumption. That being said, to many shades, we do have some part of our inner self that is not always seen, be made more visible by alcohol.

Marx’s ideas can theoretically offer part of an explanation: that the corporate society, going more complex not only in production, technology, and work but also consequently in human relations makes our instincts hide deeper. The desire to work for food (as opposed to see them tin packed in supermarket isles) and the intimacy we all want to share with nature for our livelihoods becomes a fainter background to our actual reality, where we live on nine to six work hours doing things that connect to the economy beyond our vision and that will help us buy food and survive.

It is possible this is going to herald greater dissatisfaction and a thicker layering to our selves. The layering is probably much less in smaller societies that have not been touched by the intricacies of corporate life. Whatever the analysis, alcohol seems to reflect a much deeper aspect of our living than generally understood.

Chiya-Pasaley loves tea and writes about conversations that originate along the hours spent on drinking many cups of it. Besides that he is curious about many things and especially the rural-urban divide, and the coming of modernization to Nepal. He writes on the mundane and the very fantastic, and everything in between. 

 http://www.parakhi.com/blogs/2011/12/24/on-alcohol-with-marx