Table of Contents

• Neoliberalism and Its Social Impact
• Economic Precarity and Alcohol Consumption
• Individual Responsibility and the Burden of Selfhood
• Social Isolation and the Erosion of Community
• The Commodification of Alcohol
• Health Governance and the Neoliberal State
• Cultural Normalization of Excess
• Broader Implications for Society
• Conclusion

Alcoholism is often understood through the lens of individual pathology, biomedical explanations, or cultural traditions. However, sociological inquiry reveals that the roots of alcoholism are also deeply embedded in broader structural and political-economic arrangements. One of the most influential frameworks shaping contemporary society is neoliberalism. Emerging in the late twentieth century, neoliberalism emphasizes deregulation, privatization, individual responsibility, and the retreat of state welfare provisions. These shifts have had profound effects on social life, including patterns of alcohol consumption and the social conditions that foster addiction.

This article will explore how neoliberalism contributes to alcoholism. By examining its effects on economic precarity, cultural values, social isolation, health governance, and broader cultural norms, we can understand alcoholism not simply as a private trouble but as a public issue rooted in neoliberal social organization. We will also highlight examples and sociological mechanisms that explain how neoliberal conditions magnify vulnerability to alcohol misuse.

Neoliberalism and Its Social Impact

What is Neoliberalism?

Neoliberalism can be defined as a political and economic paradigm that:

• Promotes market logic as the primary means of organizing social life.
• Encourages deregulation and the reduction of state welfare programs.
• Shifts responsibility for well-being from collective structures to individuals.
• Normalizes competition, flexibility, and consumer choice as moral virtues.

Although often discussed in terms of macroeconomic policy, neoliberalism also has profound cultural consequences. It reshapes subjectivity by encouraging individuals to see themselves as entrepreneurial actors responsible for their own successes and failures. In this way, neoliberalism extends beyond economics into the very fabric of daily life. For sociologists, this means analyzing not only policies but also how neoliberalism reshapes identity, relationships, and coping strategies.

The Social Consequences

The neoliberal turn has led to several sociological outcomes that create conditions favorable to alcoholism:

• Precarity of work: Increasingly unstable employment generates stress, insecurity, and feelings of dispossession.
• Erosion of social safety nets: Reduced access to welfare and healthcare leaves vulnerable groups without support.
• Cultural individualism: The narrative of personal responsibility obscures structural inequalities, making individuals blame themselves for systemic failures.
• Commercialization of leisure: Market-driven leisure industries normalize alcohol consumption as both a coping mechanism and a commodity of pleasure.

These dynamics combine to cultivate a social world in which alcohol is both easily available and socially endorsed, while the conditions of life push many toward reliance on it.

Economic Precarity and Alcohol Consumption

Precarious Work and Stress

Under neoliberal regimes, work is marked by flexibility, short-term contracts, and insecurity. This environment produces chronic stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. Alcohol often emerges as a coping strategy for individuals managing the psychological toll of unstable livelihoods. The neoliberal labor market not only produces more precarious workers but also cultivates conditions in which substance misuse becomes normalized.

For instance, gig economy workers and zero-hour contract employees often face long hours with little security. Sociologically, this insecurity creates a sense of alienation from work and life. In turn, alcohol becomes a way to manage both emotional exhaustion and the pressures of survival.

Inequality and Self-Medication

Neoliberal economies exacerbate inequality, concentrating wealth in the hands of the few while leaving others marginalized. Sociologically, inequality correlates with higher rates of addiction as disadvantaged groups turn to alcohol as a form of self-medication. The structural violence of neoliberal inequality translates into embodied suffering, where alcohol becomes both a symbolic and material relief.

Research shows that areas with high inequality often report greater levels of alcohol-related harm. The consumption is not only about pleasure but about numbing the lived experience of being excluded from prosperity. In this way, neoliberalism generates not only inequality but also the conditions that make alcoholism a predictable response.

Individual Responsibility and the Burden of Selfhood

Neoliberal Subjectivity

Neoliberalism produces a new form of subjectivity: the self as an entrepreneurial project. Individuals are expected to continuously improve themselves, manage risks, and compete for resources. This perpetual pressure fosters feelings of inadequacy when individuals fail to live up to impossible standards. Alcohol offers temporary relief from these self-imposed burdens, reinforcing cycles of dependency.

For example, university students in neoliberal education systems face pressure to treat themselves as investments—constantly upgrading skills and achievements. Alcohol becomes both an escape from this pressure and a performance of neoliberal sociability, where binge drinking is tied to the performance of youthful success and resilience.

Blame and Stigma

Alcoholism under neoliberalism is doubly stigmatized. Not only is the condition seen as a personal weakness, but the neoliberal ethic of self-responsibility amplifies this judgment. Rather than recognizing structural determinants, society often blames the individual. This stigma discourages treatment-seeking and fosters further isolation, creating a feedback loop between shame and substance dependence.

Sociologically, this stigmatization reproduces inequality by denying people access to supportive care. It creates what some scholars call a “moral economy of blame,” where those struggling with addiction are seen as failed neoliberal subjects rather than victims of structural conditions.

Social Isolation and the Erosion of Community