They existed in the realm of propaganda, but were not seriously enforced. People could show up at work drunk and face no repercussions. Or, as in one case I’ve read about, a factory worker could try drinking some industrial-grade alcohol on the job, get taken away by an ambulance unconscious, and then go back to work as usual a few days later. On the whole, the government preferred a drunken populace over one that had time to soberly consider the possibility that their misery had systemic causes.
5 Likes
