Americans are just saying no to alcohol
Hanging up the hooch? You’re not alone. The New York Times on Aug. 13 presented a sobering look into the state of Americans’ drinking habits:
Data from a national survey released Wednesday showed that only 54 percent of U.S. adults said they consumed alcohol. This is the lowest percentage in Gallup’s 90 years of collecting data on drinking behavior.
(Chart source: Gallup Poll)
Note that the highs of 68% to 71% were all recorded between 1974 and 1981, a period of sustained negative social mood.
That’s no coincidence.
As our April 2021 Elliott Wave Financial Forecast concluded upon studying a decades-long chart of per capita U.S. consumption of alcoholic beverages versus the DJIA/PPI:
Long bear markets accompany uptrends in alcohol consumption, whereas bull markets tend to see flat periods or declines.
Cultural shifts in people’s tolerance for alcohol is just one of a myriad of ways social mood influences the “new normal” of human behavior.
And, speaking of “new normal,” our August 2025 Socionomist cover story “A Leftward Turn” by Chuck Thompson reviews the last century of American politics and identifies one deciding factor as to whether the seeds of socialism take root and bear successful leaders – or whether they lay fallow in the ground.
Read part 1 of this report – along with an in-depth piece on the rise of vaccine hesitancy and its contribution to a new wave of disease outbreaks – today! The full August 2025 Socionomist is available for just $30!