Should we encourage kiddish clubs?

William Saletan:

Alcohol drinkers earn 10 percent to 14 percent more than nondrinkers, according to a study. Authors' theories: 1) Drinking helps you "socialize more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers an advantage in important relationships." 2) Drinking "may also provide individuals with opportunities to learn people, business, and social skills." Authors' conclusions: 1) "By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies eliminate one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital." 2) "Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers' fun, but they may also decrease earnings." 3) Maybe we should stop trying to reduce drinking at colleges. Rebuttals: 1) You don't have to drink to socialize. 2) It's more likely that sociability causes both drinking and social capital than that drinking causes
social capital. 3) This "study" is right-wing-funded spin masquerading as impartial research. (For Human Nature's previous updates on the benefits of alcohol, click here, here, and here.)