The Social Use of Drunkenness

Another interesting case are the Japanese.

They have a reputation for not being able to hold their Sake. However, its hard to gauge how drunk they are in a culture which requires one to feign being drunker.

Social drinking, particularly after-work drinking by business partners is pretty much the only context in which necessary information that might cause another to lose-face can be imparted.

* hic * "I loooove you man. But nobody wants cars with tail fins anymoooor." * hic *

Drunkenness is a key component of building sober consensus. And the negatives are dismissed as the Sake, while the info is incorporated into the group decision. Its important that by the time parties arrive to the table to negotiate, that there's really nothing to negotiate anymore.

I suspect this is also true for any culture that needs a cathartic excuse. ( And no comments about the Cathars now. ) :)

Dante