Coincidentally, this week’s On the Media was a fascinating episode about alcohol. Of the many facts discussed was the revelation that 92 of every 100 participants in Alcoholics Anonymous will quit the program within a year. Objectively speaking, its 12-step approach is largely a failure that ignores what clinical studies have discovered about alcohol dependence — some of which debunk the myth, illustrated here by Poncho, that complete abstinence is an absolute necessity. And yet, AA receives popular support because it depends for its appeal exclusively on anecdotal tales of isolated success — a narrative Americans seemingly love to embrace and then impulsively generalize across an entire population.
Coincidentally, this week’s On the Media was a fascinating episode about alcohol. Of the many facts discussed was the revelation that 92 of every 100 participants in Alcoholics Anonymous will quit the program within a year. Objectively speaking, its 12-step approach is largely a failure that ignores what clinical studies have discovered about alcohol dependence — some of which debunk the myth, illustrated here by Poncho, that complete abstinence is an absolute necessity. And yet, AA receives popular support because it depends for its appeal exclusively on anecdotal tales of isolated success — a narrative Americans seemingly love to embrace and then impulsively generalize across an entire population.