Alcoholism und poverty – a vicious circle?

Im Rahmen unseres Semesterthemas „United Kingdom“ haben wir, die Q1s, uns in den vergangenen Wochen damit beschäftigt, was die britische und auch die schottische Kultur ausmacht. Vor allem bei letzterer denken viele Menschen zuerst an das „Nationalgetränk“ Schottlands, den Whisky. Dabei ist Whisky in Schottland erst im 19. Jahrhundert zu seiner Bekannt- und Berühmtheit gekommen. Während der Industrialisierung herrschten in großen Teilen des Landes starke Armut und schlechte Lebensbedingungen. Um diese Sorgen für einen kurzen Moment zu vergessen, wandten sich damals viele Arbeiter dem Alkohol zu, es gab also eine starke Verbindung zwischen Alkohol und Armut. Doch wie sieht das heute aus? Zu der Verbindung zwischen Alkohol und Armut und möglichen Ursachen für diese Verbindung haben wir im Unterricht Essays geschrieben. Ein Beispiel für ein solches Essay findet sich untenstehend.

Essay – Alcoholism and poverty

If someone asked you to think of a person suffering from alcoholism, who would come to your mind? Would you picture a top manager worth two million dollar who is planning to build his second villa on a tropical island? Or do you think of the old man living under a railway bridge owning almost nothing except a bottle of whisky besides him?

I have to admit that this question cannot be answered completely objectively while taking all the facts into account, since probability theory shows that it is much more likely to pass a railway underpass than to personally know a top manager worth two million dollar. However, I think the answer that most of you instinctively had in mind reveals a problem that cannot be ignored. 

There is a definite link between alcoholism and poverty. The German Institute for Health Research found out that in 2023, 21,6 out of 1.000 people with an average annual income of less than 15.000 euros suffered from alcoholism. In comparison, among people with an income of 25.000 – 30.000 euros, only 12,39 suffered from alcoholism.

But does this link exist only in one direction? Does poverty lead to alcoholism? Or is it the other way around? There are a lot of possible reasons suggesting that alcoholism can lead to poverty but at least the same amount of reasons that support the opposite.

After all, alcohol is an inebriating substance that may allow people to forget reality – and with it their worries – for a short moment. Especially those who are poor, homeless or burdened by debts are longing for a short break from reality. This desire drives them to drink alcohol, especially since alcohol is relatively cheap and easy available, as nearly every supermarked sells some form of alcohol. That‘s why even  people with limited financial means can afford and feel the need to buy alcohol.

To make matters worse, people who live in poverty often suffer from social isolation which is why they don‘t have a stable social environment that could show them possible ways out of their situation. Instead of talking to a friend or a family member in order to find support,, they often see drinking as their only escape from reality.

Nevertheless, alcohol isn‘t necessarily the consequence of poverty – it can be its source as well.

Especially long-term alcohol consumption can not only lead to a decline in productivity but also to frequent absences or tardiness due to hangovers. Both of these aspects are possible reasons for a dismissal from one‘s job and losing employment may quickly push people into poverty.

But you don‘t necessarily have to lose your job to fall into poverty due to alcohol as this drug may also cause physical or mental damage that makes you unable to continue your work and instead of this pushes you into the dependance of social welfare or early rentirement that only guarantees the minimum subsistence level.

In addition, people who suffer from alcoholism spend a lot of their money on alcohol, which not only leaves them with less money for food or social activities that could bring them into contact with other people, but also means that their financial resources are steadily decreasing.

The link between alcoholism and poverty can therefore also – or especially – be seen as a vicious circle as alcoholism costs people a lot of money in the long run and poor people are more likely to suffer from alcoholism.

Altogether, one can either see alcohol as the cause of poverty or poverty as a cause of alcoholism and even argue that the two aspects are connected in a vicious circle, there are many arguments for each of these points of view concerning the social, economic and psychological aspects. What remains undisputed is that there is a very strong link between alcoholism and poverty that carries many dangers.