(My computer was acting up. I can post). Why do so many people who claim to be progressive or liberal in their views on social policies still support the idea that the U.S. drug war strategy (with its insane devotion to coercion and punishment) should continue (Even though its supposed “goal” to reduce illicit drug use and protect society from its effects has been a complete failure)? It seems that Libertarian thinkers have by far been the most consistent critics of the drug war; while the democratic party establishment continues to strongly back most pro drug war strategies.
Because it is their child?
Because at the core of progressive thought is an all-powerful government that can tell you what you can and cannot do. The drug war is simply an extension of that.
In the past parties on the “left end” of the spectrum flirted briefly and mostly ineffectively with the issue of drugs legalization. This was not done out of true ideological motivations, but simply to appeal to the “stoner” subculture which, more often than not, tend to be near the leftist movement.
So why “lefties”, being them US Democrats, French Socialists or British Labour Party members, have all aligned themselves to the mainstream view that drug is the new “Demon Rum”? It’s very, very simple. Few, if any, have a complete grasp of how big the anti-drug “industry” is. Suppose that tomorrow morning a few, widely popular drugs (cannabinoids and amphetamine derivatives, just make an example) were to be legalized. How many persons would lose their jobs? We are talking about thousands of policemen, judges, lawyers, even paramilitary groups in some far-away country which we “Westeners” mantain at our expenses to brutalize peasants and burn crops. And let’s not forget the “added value” of using the spectre of “drug killing our children” to patronize and harrass the serfs in every conceivable way: recently I’ve learned that police have started using sniff-dogs in secondary schools in my area. Of course they won’t find mountains of crack doses ready to be sold (children of that age group do not have that much money and are not that stupid… to buy drugs inside a school) but it’s an excellent way to “get them early”.
Very true..
And the police, judges, ect are a source of “strong arm” power that the government would not want to give up or reduce (at the very least) by having to transfer funds away from them to health care related services (for example).
So, it really comes down to fear and power? In other words, the government keeps the masses fearful of the supposed armageddon like effects of having an over abundance of illicit drugs in our environment - while maintaining their power by taxing the citizens to fight the “evil substances” (and thus continue to fund the police and military in the process). But in the end they have not reduced drug use one bit…
I wonder what percentage of overall police arrests are illicit substance related in the U.S.?