Examples of coercive rules that spread by imitation?
May 3, 2015 7:09 PM Subscribe
HIVEMIND! Does anyone know any examples of rules or institutions imposed by powerful individuals that other powerful individuals then copied, with the rule eventually spreading through a population? I imagine that someone might impose a rule and that someone else might think, "woah, that's a good idea - I'm gonna impose that, too," and then it spreads. Possible examples might include the origins of Jim Crow laws, or the development of norms of respect (like bowing to old people). I'm especially looking for examples that are discussed in the academic literature, but any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. THANKS!!
The Nazis were inspired to use Zyklon B after seeing the US use it against Mexican immigrants.
posted by divabat at 7:28 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by divabat at 7:28 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
My first thought was zero-tolerance policies in schools, which apparently started with firearms in the 1990s because they had to, but in many cases spread to tons of other stuff. Ah, the memories of huddling in the hallway, senior year, puffing on my inhaler with my hand over it like I was trying to hide a crack pipe or something, because being diagnosed with bronchitis and not asthma meant I was not on the exception list and wasn't even allowed to have my own prescriptions with me.
posted by Sequence at 7:31 PM on May 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Sequence at 7:31 PM on May 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
American flag pins on US politicians.
posted by dilaudid at 7:46 PM on May 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by dilaudid at 7:46 PM on May 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
The scale of silencing critics: first you shoot them. Then you put them in jail. Then you start suing them for defamation which is far more elegant, legal and lets you shut up international newspapers too!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 8:07 PM on May 3, 2015
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 8:07 PM on May 3, 2015
Many industries follow this kind of notion. Software, for example, has seen waves of process and paradigm. Object orientation, extreme programming and micro services to name a few. There might even be papers showing how these things spread.
posted by poe at 8:13 PM on May 3, 2015
posted by poe at 8:13 PM on May 3, 2015
How about the promotion of bike helmets? In some parts of the world it is considered the height of irresponsibility to bike without one (e.g. many states in the U.S.) and in others it is outright illegal (e.g. Australia), though in parts of Western Europe it is common to go without one. A NYT article from a few years ago explores this. There's also academic literature about the effectiveness of the policy and some people find it to be coercive (myself definitely), though it's peanuts compared to Jim Crow.
posted by icemill at 8:14 PM on May 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by icemill at 8:14 PM on May 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Every time a prominent black person suggests that young black men pull up their pants.
posted by 256 at 8:18 PM on May 3, 2015
posted by 256 at 8:18 PM on May 3, 2015
The Ten Commandments.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:20 PM on May 3, 2015
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:20 PM on May 3, 2015
This is essentially how large companies operate.
See also: stack ranking, disruptive innovation, six sigma, outsourcing, insourcing, core competencies, centers of excellence, and anything that came out of GE while Jack Welch was there.
hbr.org is a good source for new fads. They're... not so good at reviewing how the old fads performed.
posted by underflow at 8:38 PM on May 3, 2015
See also: stack ranking, disruptive innovation, six sigma, outsourcing, insourcing, core competencies, centers of excellence, and anything that came out of GE while Jack Welch was there.
hbr.org is a good source for new fads. They're... not so good at reviewing how the old fads performed.
posted by underflow at 8:38 PM on May 3, 2015
any thoughts or suggestions are welcome
This episode of Seinfeld was the first thing that came to mind. It's exactly what you're talking about. I hope you can use it :)
posted by stellathon at 8:49 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
This episode of Seinfeld was the first thing that came to mind. It's exactly what you're talking about. I hope you can use it :)
posted by stellathon at 8:49 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
just-in-time scheduling seems* like some bright douchebag MBA stole it from manufacturing, where the principle was applied to making widgets. Now it's applied to people cogs, too. It's getting to be pretty uniform practice in low-wage work - though I don't know how it began.
* no cite. i can't even find anyone bragging about it in Forbes or Fast Company.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:06 PM on May 3, 2015
* no cite. i can't even find anyone bragging about it in Forbes or Fast Company.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:06 PM on May 3, 2015
Like the "no liquids" ban on airlines that started IIRC in the US and then spread (unfortunately in my opinion) to the rest of the world?
Ditto x-ray backscatter and mm wave radar body scanners - no provable improvements in security, but they're international now because the US introduced them in its airports, and insisted that other counrties do so also.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:19 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ditto x-ray backscatter and mm wave radar body scanners - no provable improvements in security, but they're international now because the US introduced them in its airports, and insisted that other counrties do so also.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:19 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Having worked for a state legislature for many years, I can tell you that most lawmaking is heavily "copycat" in nature. That's because if one state has a problem, the other 49 states probably have a similar problem. So policy makers are always looking at what other states are doing, especially when it comes to writing legislation. There's no sense in each state "reinventing the wheel."
The passage of Proposition 13 in California (1978) and Proposition 2½ in Massachusetts (1980) got all states looking seriously at property tax caps. More recently, when New York was pondering whether to allow fracking and how to regulate and tax it, policy analysts definitely looked at the laws, rules and regulations being used in our neighboring state of Pennsylvania.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) website is a good resource for comparing what states are doing on various issues, be it ethics (or the lack thereof), fiscal policy, energy policy or whatever. The topics in the box on the righthand side under the word "navigate" are a good place to start. Surely political science, public administration and maybe the more eclectic economic journals have articles on what you're looking for. The trick is finding the right word or phrase to search on.
Good luck with your research.
posted by bim at 9:58 PM on May 3, 2015
The passage of Proposition 13 in California (1978) and Proposition 2½ in Massachusetts (1980) got all states looking seriously at property tax caps. More recently, when New York was pondering whether to allow fracking and how to regulate and tax it, policy analysts definitely looked at the laws, rules and regulations being used in our neighboring state of Pennsylvania.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) website is a good resource for comparing what states are doing on various issues, be it ethics (or the lack thereof), fiscal policy, energy policy or whatever. The topics in the box on the righthand side under the word "navigate" are a good place to start. Surely political science, public administration and maybe the more eclectic economic journals have articles on what you're looking for. The trick is finding the right word or phrase to search on.
Good luck with your research.
posted by bim at 9:58 PM on May 3, 2015
Like the "no liquids" ban on airlines that started IIRC in the US and then spread (unfortunately in my opinion) to the rest of the world?
Similarly, being required to remove your shoes when going through security; I think this is phasing out in the UK and Europe, but for a while it was as common as the no-liquids rule.
posted by neushoorn at 11:31 PM on May 3, 2015
Similarly, being required to remove your shoes when going through security; I think this is phasing out in the UK and Europe, but for a while it was as common as the no-liquids rule.
posted by neushoorn at 11:31 PM on May 3, 2015
Like the "no liquids" ban on airlines that started IIRC in the US and then spread (unfortunately in my opinion) to the rest of the world?
This wasn't spreading by imitation but rather by coercion.
In Europe currently, and I think ever since this absurdist security theatre began, you have not been able to take liquids from landside to airside but have been able to buy them airside. Many airlines forbid you to carry hot liquids on board but none in my experience worry about e.g. bottled water.
posted by epo at 3:04 AM on May 4, 2015
This wasn't spreading by imitation but rather by coercion.
In Europe currently, and I think ever since this absurdist security theatre began, you have not been able to take liquids from landside to airside but have been able to buy them airside. Many airlines forbid you to carry hot liquids on board but none in my experience worry about e.g. bottled water.
posted by epo at 3:04 AM on May 4, 2015
Saying "sir" and "ma'am" to someone older or more 'entitled' than yourself.
posted by mmiddle at 6:45 AM on May 4, 2015
posted by mmiddle at 6:45 AM on May 4, 2015
Cars were initially thought of as AWESOME! They are fast! They don't poo in the streets! But at this point, car-centric infrastructure is forced on many people who don't need or prefer it.
The benefits of active transportation are well-documented, but I can't get around my platinum-level city that is famous for bike-friendliness without risking my life on a regular basis.
posted by aniola at 11:44 AM on May 4, 2015
The benefits of active transportation are well-documented, but I can't get around my platinum-level city that is famous for bike-friendliness without risking my life on a regular basis.
posted by aniola at 11:44 AM on May 4, 2015
Gun control laws. The text of most state assault weapon bans closely follow the original federal ban.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:50 PM on May 4, 2015
posted by SemiSalt at 5:50 PM on May 4, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by alchemist at 7:16 PM on May 3, 2015