Failing to learn from history's lessons

In these difficult political times, perhaps we should reflect on the significant date of Dec. 5. You’ve never heard of it? Well, maybe that’s the problem.

It was on this day in 1933 that the 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages was repealed. As we now see it, Prohibition was a laughable failure. It didn’t stop drinking and gave rise to a tide of corruption and organized crime. The country sighed with relief when it was struck down in 1933.

Alas, the public didn’t grasp that a highly significant experiment on the problem-solving ability of government had taken place. No holiday was established, and no analysis of misguided assumptions followed. Practically the next day, other problems were noticed, those associated with the Depression. The country showed little hesitation in turning to government again, creating an alphabet soup of agencies and programs — programs that, we now understand, deepened the Depression.

If we’re going to get a handle on political disappointment, we need to recognize this curious pattern. Why does the human race so readily embrace government as the solution to problems, even though the lessons of history demonstrate that this path is fraught with difficulties and dangers?

Machiavelli may have been the first to point toward the explanation, which is that large groups are easily swayed by first impressions when dealing with distant challenges. As he put it: “If you propose anything that upon its face seems profitable and courageous, though there be really a loss concealed under it which may involve the ruin of the republic, the multitude will ever be most easily persuaded to it.”

This tendency to oversimplify lies at the heart of political failures like prohibition. One sees a problem: People are getting drunk and ruining their lives. At first glance, the solution seems obvious: Have government stop alcohol use. Alas, the world is vastly complicated. In the case of alcoholism, as the country learned, the malady involves many social and psychological pressures at the individual level — pressures that will bypass and corrupt a government edict.

“But,” people will say, “what else is there?”

It’s an understandable reaction. Whatever its imperfections, government seems to have great power. It resides in towering marble buildings, it has armies of bureaucrats and policemen, and trillions of dollars. Isn’t it better to try to use this power rather than just stand by and do nothing?

Fortunately, there’s an answer to this dilemma: Government isn’t the only problem-solving system. There’s another one: the social universe. This is the vast, decentralized assemblage of friends and neighbors, volunteer groups, clubs, churches, businesses and nonprofits that play a positive role in meeting social needs.

Some prohibitionists discovered this realm after their failure with the government approach. One who made the turn was the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who was concerned about alcohol abuse and the destructive effects it was having on society. Along with many others, he first looked to government to fix the problem. He was a major donor to the Anti-Saloon League, the political pressure group that lobbied for the 18th Amendment.

After Prohibition had run its course, Rockefeller agreed that the government approach had failed, but he did not give up. He found out about a small group of ex-drinkers who were developing a personal approach to dealing with alcohol addiction, Alcoholics Anonymous. Over a period of years, he worked with the founders and connected them with other social leaders. He also contributed funds — though he was careful not to donate too much money and spoil AA’s grassroots, volunteer character.

The social universe is the alternative to government, but it’s not easy. The founders of AA, including the noted Bill W. and Dr. Bob, worked for years to develop this personal approach to aiding alcoholics, facing many obstacles and challenges, which included things like having your kitchen trashed and your wife threatened by not-yet-reformed drunks you invited home. Reading AA’s history in detail, one is amazed at the perseverance of these founders.

Maybe that should be the larger lesson of Dec. 5. When it comes to handling social problems, whether we turn to government or to the social universe, the maxim ought to be, “It’s more complicated than it seems.”

Jim Payne has taught political science at Yale, Wesleyan, Johns Hopkins and Texas A&M. His books include “The Culture of Spending” (1991), “Overcoming Welfare” (1998), and “Six Political Illusions” (2010).