Re:What You Can't Say (2004)
by rocqua on Friday October 11, 2019 @07:29PM
(#21229340)
> I suspect the biggest source of moral taboos will turn out to be power struggles in which one side only barely has the upper hand. That's where you'll find a group powerful enough to enforce taboos, but weak enough to need them.
Later, Paul Graham comes with the following variation of the above:
> What groups are powerful but nervous, and what ideas would they like to suppress?
Which I think is better. The difference is "weak enough to need taboos" vs "nervous". The group just needs to feel their power slipping away. This makes it a lot more applicable to your white males comment too. Whether white males' position is "weak enough to need taboos" is much more up for debate than whether some are nervous that their power is slipping away.
Later, Paul Graham comes with the following variation of the above:
> What groups are powerful but nervous, and what ideas would they like to suppress?
Which I think is better. The difference is "weak enough to need taboos" vs "nervous". The group just needs to feel their power slipping away. This makes it a lot more applicable to your white males comment too. Whether white males' position is "weak enough to need taboos" is much more up for debate than whether some are nervous that their power is slipping away.