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Why is cultural evolution never discussed as a possible reason? We know cultures change. When we note that acceptance of gays has become mainstream or that sm
by nostromo 11y ago
Why is cultural evolution never discussed as a possible reason?
We know cultures change. When we note that acceptance of gays has become mainstream or that smoking has decreased or that people get married later, we don't presume that it has to do with abortion rates or leaded gasoline -- we just understand that cultural shifts happen. But when it's crime, we rack our brains looking for the one single physical reason crime dropped.
- golergka 11y ago> smoking Tobacco.
- chrisdbaldwin 11y agoThis is an important distinction. Tobacco usage has gone down. Electronic cigarettes, however, are booming among former tobacco users. Americans are also opening up to marijuana legalization.
- randallsquared 11y ago> When we note that acceptance of gays has become mainstream or that smoking has decreased or that people get married later, we don't presume that it has to do with abortion rates or leaded gasoline -- we just understand that cultural shifts happen. We absolutely try to discover the causes of those shifts. There are similar articles about why those things are happening, too, in each case!
- slipjack 11y agoSo, not necessarily this article, but I haven't seen much in sociological or economics literature that's put forth one single reason crime dropped. There's argument over primary causes, or how much each cause contributes to the drop, but not much about single unifying theories.