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Drug addicts leave a path of destruction in their wake. In modern America it is a larger problem than racism and sexism. But the War on Drugs doesn't solve the

Drug addicts leave a path of destruction in their wake. In modern America it is a larger problem than racism and sexism. But the War on Drugs doesn't solve the problem.

nitrogen 12y ago
I think what I was trying to say is that "social norm" is too mild a term for all three. When I hear "social norm" I think of things like elevator etiquette and telephone greetings.
- rayiner 12y ago
  A social norm is something that gets people to behave a certain way because of conscious and unconscious social expectations and pressure. Elevator etiquette and telephone greetings are etiquette, which is narrower than social norms. Take something like domestic violence. It happens in western countries, but is much less common than it is in say the subcontinent. Why? It's illegal in both places, after all, and the probability of the police doing anything about it if a victim complains is close to nil. What's different is the social norm. In the west, you're raised to believe you're a really bad, evil, guy if you hit your spouse. In many other countries, it's considered something you shouldn't do, but doesn't rise to the level of a black mark on your character. If you think about it, the only rational explanation for the criminal justice system is the establishment of social norms. Criminal punishment is almost always retrospective, and in that regard is always a net loss to society. Putting a murder in prison for life doesn't bring the victim back, and costs a lot of money on top of that. And as the drug war shows, the deterrent effect from the threat of punishment, by itself, isn't really significant. So why do we have this vast apparatus of law and criminal justice anyway? Arguably, the reason is the establishment of social norms. When the robber thinks of breaking into someone's house, we don't just want them to weigh the potential take against the cost of prison discounted by the probability of not getting caught. We want them to think that they're a bad, evil, person for doing what they are thinking of doing.

Drug addicts leave a path of destruction in their wake. In modern America it is a larger problem than racism and sexism. But the War on Drugs doesn't solve the problem.

nitrogen 12y ago

I think what I was trying to say is that "social norm" is too mild a term for all three. When I hear "social norm" I think of things like elevator etiquette and telephone greetings.

rayiner 12y ago
A social norm is something that gets people to behave a certain way because of conscious and unconscious social expectations and pressure. Elevator etiquette and telephone greetings are etiquette, which is narrower than social norms. Take something like domestic violence. It happens in western countries, but is much less common than it is in say the subcontinent. Why? It's illegal in both places, after all, and the probability of the police doing anything about it if a victim complains is close to nil. What's different is the social norm. In the west, you're raised to believe you're a really bad, evil, guy if you hit your spouse. In many other countries, it's considered something you shouldn't do, but doesn't rise to the level of a black mark on your character. If you think about it, the only rational explanation for the criminal justice system is the establishment of social norms. Criminal punishment is almost always retrospective, and in that regard is always a net loss to society. Putting a murder in prison for life doesn't bring the victim back, and costs a lot of money on top of that. And as the drug war shows, the deterrent effect from the threat of punishment, by itself, isn't really significant. So why do we have this vast apparatus of law and criminal justice anyway? Arguably, the reason is the establishment of social norms. When the robber thinks of breaking into someone's house, we don't just want them to weigh the potential take against the cost of prison discounted by the probability of not getting caught. We want them to think that they're a bad, evil, person for doing what they are thinking of doing.