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"domestication" makes me think of "oversocialization" used in the unabomber manifesto[1]. > 24. Psychologists use the term “socialization” to designate the pro
by devmunchies 6y ago
"domestication" makes me think of "oversocialization" used in the unabomber manifesto[1].
> 24. Psychologists use the term “socialization” to designate the process by which children are trained to think and act as society demands. A person is said to be well socialized if he believes in and obeys the moral code of his society and fits in well as a functioning part of that society.
> ...
> 26. Oversocialization can lead to low self-esteem, a sense of powerlessness, defeatism, guilt, etc. One of the most important means by which our society socializes children is by making them feel ashamed of behavior or speech that is contrary to society’s expectations. If this is overdone, or if a particular child is especially susceptible to such feelings, he ends by feeling ashamed of HIMSELF. [...] And socialization is not just a matter of morality; we are socialized to conform to many norms of behavior that do not fall under the heading of morality. Thus the oversocialized person is kept on a psychological leash and spends his life running on rails that society has laid down for him. In many oversocialized people this results in a sense of constraint and powerlessness that can be a severe hardship. We suggest that oversocialization is among the more serious cruelties that human beings inflict on one another.
I removed some bits for brevity and because they're overtly political. I particularly like "Thus the oversocialized person is kept on a psychological leash and spends his life running on rails that society has laid down for him".
[1]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unabomber/manifesto.text.htm https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unab...
- optimalsolver 6y agoSo what were his alternatives? That society be made up of loosely-connected hermits such as himself? If you're going to have anything resembling a community, you're going to need strongly enforced norms (aka "oversocialization") that minimize internal strife and division. This is true for hunter-gatherer bands and continent-spanning civilizations.
- iujjkfjdkkdkf 6y agoAnti-social behavior is undesirable if everybody does it, but its also what makes a leader. Look at the discussion around CEOs having dark triad traits. We simultaneously know that we dont want most people to behave this way, but also gravitate towards those that do. I think there is a spectrum: on one end are sheep and cows where everyone is social and as a group they are dumb but plentiful. On the other end are tigers, where everyone is antisocial, everybody is an apex predator but as a species there aren't that many because they dont cooperate. And then there are humans, ants, maybe wolves, where there is a nice mix of conformity and leadership, social and antisocial, that lets us come up with new ideas, but then fall in line behind executing them. So yeah, society full of antisocials is pretty ineffective, but so is a society of conformists.
- devmunchies 6y agoyou don't need to be oversocialized or anti-social. You can be balanced. Being oversocialzed means you aren't taking any risks or being rebellious at all. Society needs some rebels if we want to break major milestones.