It is conventional wisdom that alcohol prohibition failed, but the economic reasons for this failure have never been as extensively detailed or analyzed as they are in this study by Mark Thornton.
The lessons he draws apply not only to the period of alcohol prohibition but also to drug prohibition and any other government attempt to control consumption habits. The same pattern is repeated again and again.
Thornton’s treatment of the topic is methodical. He first examines the history of prohibition laws, primarily focusing on American implementation of prohibitionist policies. He examines the prime movers in the alcohol, narcotics, and marijuana prohibition movements. He then examines the theoretical premises upon which prohibition advocates depend, and thoroughly exposes them as fallacious.
After examining the history and theory of prohibition, Thornton reveals the effects of such policies on the potency of illegal drugs. He explains how prohibition inevitably creates incentives for producers to increase the potency of drugs and alcohol products distributed via the black market.
Also investigated in this book are the effects of prohibition policies on crime rates and government corruption rates. Finally, Thornton discusses the repeal of prohibition, offering both public policy alternatives and truly free-market solutions.
According to Murray N. Rothbard, “Thornton’s book... arrives to fill an enormous gap, and it does so splendidly... The drug prohibition question is... the hottest political topic today, and for the foreseeable future... This is an excellent work making an important contribution to scholarship as well as to the public policy debate.”
Mark Thornton is the Peterson-Luddy Chair in Austrian Economics and a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute. He is the book review editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, and has authored seven books and is a frequent guest on national radio shows.
As the economy becomes increasingly uncertain and confusing, the metals markets are responding. It is time to take a close look at them.
Mark Thornton joins Sound Money Matters to discuss how runaway government debt and inflation undermine working families—and how gold and silver could help restore monetary discipline. He also examines the risks behind the AI boom and practical steps toward currency competition, including removing tax barriers to using precious metals.
Mark Thornton joins Wall Street Bullion to discuss what gold and silver reveal about declining confidence in the dollar, how government debt is squeezing the private economy, and why the AI boom could be vulnerable to a bust. He also examines the risks of central bank digital currencies and the case for sound money.
(1991) Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
