Addiction compromises are unstable so total abstinence is the stable focal point

Evidence

The more it is clear that concession is collapse, the more convincing the focal point is. The same point is illustrated in the game that we play against ourselves when we try to give up cigarettes or liquor. “Just one little drink,” is a notoriously unstable compromise offer; and more people give up cigarettes altogether than manage to reach a stable compromise at a small daily quota. Once the virgin principle is gone, there is no confidence in any resting point, and expectations converge on complete collapse. The very recognition of this keeps attention focused on the point of complete abstinence. — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 267

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Addicts choose addiction; the substance is an alibi for the drive — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 128; Not being hooked on anything is more deadly than addiction itself — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1193

Related

• Addicts choose addiction; the substance is an alibi for the drive (similarity 0.88)