There are important lessons in the cases you've mentioned. Prohibition and the war on drugs both conclusively prove that banning them outright is a disastrously idiotic idea with devastating social consequences, far exceeding the harm caused by the substances. The same is sometimes argued against pandemic mitigation measures, but I find that these arguments usually don't appreciate the exponential growth aspect of the virus.

I think the automobile (and building codes, for that matter) one are interesting too in that they've mainly had cost impacts instead of enjoyment impacts, and have encountered much less resistance - although the cumulative impact of those costs are pretty high, economically.

I think whoever is planning for future pandemic responses should take that into account - the more normal, enjoyable things we can find ways to provide safely, the better.

I would argue that safety and emissions regulations have impacted the enjoyment of cars (at least for enthusiasts), through weight increases and the move to low-displacement turbocharged engines, respectively. they haven't encountered much resistance simply because the majority of drivers don't really expect driving to be fun.

It nets out as a win for enthusiasts in the end. Electric cars have better torque, and engineers shine when faced with constraints. Safer cars are also safer to drive "fun". I'm really really glad we aren't all still driving 8mpg 500ci 14 foot long boats.

Very good point.

I think the world ultimately was caught completely unprepared for this pandemic. I'm hoping that by the time the next one comes, we'll have given due considerations to psychological and emotional needs of everyone, so that even if we need to step into a cage for a while again, at least the cage will be a nice place to stay in.