Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs

Re:Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs by rayiner on Wednesday August 02, 2023 @01:15AM (#36967197)

You’re overlooking the economic context in which that social norm arose in subsistence agriculture societies. In the third-world village where my dad grew up, survival required getting married and having a couple of kids to make ends meet on the farm. The under-5 mortality rate was 1 in 5 so the adoption market was virtually non-existent. And there was little surplus generated by the village that could be used to support childless couples doing non-agricultural work. That was the reality of human history from the advent of agriculture until the 20th century (and in many parts of Africa and Asia, that’s still the reality).

So what function did shame serve in that society?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs by K0balt on Thursday August 03, 2023 @03:14PM (#36990398)

First to clarify I do not mean shaming others. I mean a personal sense of shame.

Shame in third-world societies (like the one I have lived in for the last 15 years) serves many important functions.

In my case, it is a matriarchal culture. The worst thing that can happen to a person is that your mother would feel ashamed. So people go out of their way to not do shameful things like stealing, lying, being disorderly intoxicated, and other socially hostile activities. I find that it is effective at keeping social order, and one of the worst insults is to imply that someone was ill - raised.

[ Parent | on HN ]