I'm not sure you know what a dichotomy is, but alcoholics span the range from functioning to absolutely crippled, and everywhere in between. Alcoholism is a dependence on and addiction to alcohol. No more, no less.

Jim Koch is able to function fairly well as an alcoholic that many people wouldn't be able to because of the industry he's in.

And as to your other comment, unfortunately, I'm all too familiar with alcoholism and its many forms. There's no such thing as "true alcoholism," there's just addiction.

I have 2 counter examples. My wife's step father would come home from his sales job and drink glass after glass of whiskey and coke. Each was about 15 ounces of whiskey with 1 ounce of coke to give it color (trying to hide how much he drinks). He's a good provider and only a little emotionally abusive to his family. The other example is the woman my wife works with. She is a contract-medical coder that is faster and better than anyone else in the company. She also drinks a bottle of wine with the meal she doesn't eat every night. She is the best employee my wife has as long as she's not in the hospital for electrolyte imbalance.

Is an alcoholic who has been in recovery for 15 years still an alcoholic? My friend identifies as such.