why doesn't alcohol react with sodium hydroxide but react with potassium hydroxide? I have read that ROH+ NaOH doesn't form alkoxide ions because water is a stronger acid than all alcohols except methanol. However while reading xanthate test I found that alcohol reacts with KOH to form alkoxide ions. Why is it so?
The reaction of alcohol + NaOH producing $\ce{C2H5ONa}$ + water is an equilibrium which is usually strongly pushed to the left hand side. But in the presence of $\ce{CS2}$, the alkoxide $\ce{C2H5ONa}$  is transformed into xanthate. So the equilibrium is driven to the right hand side.