Role of Taboo in Politics
Discussion
Tom Atlee:
""Taboo uses social pressure and self-censorship to keep us from thinking, talking or behaving in ways our social group doesn’t want us to. Taboo can help keep a group healthy with minimal effort. But it can be disastrous for a wise democracy where all sides of every issue need to be available for serious consideration so that trade-offs can be weighed and/or we can exercise informed, transformational co-creativity. All this is logical. But when we confront how it FEELS to really consider “the other side” in a highly charged controversial issue, we realize just how hard that can be. However, we really need to meet that challenge in order to effectively move towards a wise democracy.
“Taboo” means that if we act, speak or think in certain ways, something horrible is going to happen – usually social ostracism like loss of status, friendships, income, etc. We will be shunned and looked down on by many of our associates. As a form of peer pressure, it is a pretty big deal.
Taboos exist in most – perhaps all – societies. Taboos often exist to support social order and well being. In modern societies we see taboos against pedophilia, slavery, torture, and killing innocent people. Even if we didn’t have laws against these, social ostracism would go a long way to restraining such violations. Many of us have even watched certain frowned-on behaviors evolve into taboos, such as smoking and certain inter-gender behaviors, and from there evolve into laws.
Taboos are psychologically internalized in ways that constrain our behavior without needing much external enforcement, so they have a certain efficiency about them. By impeding choice, they also simplify life for those of us willing to follow their dictates.
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"If a taboo serves these purposes – for example, by keeping people from harassing or harming marginalized populations – it would contribute to wise democracy. If it impedes these purposes – for example, if it keeps people from seriously considering different perspectives and information regarding a controversial topic – that would undermine wise democracy.
It is important to note here that shame, fear, hatred, disgust, black-and-white thinking and blanket dismissal of people who disagree with us often play a role in taboo dynamics. These dysfunctional social responses can be triggered by well-chosen words and images. So they are powerful tools for people who want to manipulate public opinion and behavior for their own benefit. To the extent these tools are in play, it becomes really hard to develop anything approaching wise democracy.""