I was listening to 90s Bollywood music. The popular song “Choli Ke Peeche” played. This song had created quite a ruckus during my childhood for its suggestive lyrics. Today, there are songs with lyrics that make “Choli Ke Peeche” look innocent; hardly anyone bats an eyelid anymore. The Overton Window has shifted.
The Overton Window is a model for understanding how acceptable positions in society change over time. While originally a political concept, one can view any social phenomenon through this lens, including our prevailing social mores.
The ‘rules’ we accept are not permanent laws of nature. This is a difficult concept for a young mind to grasp. A kid usually views the world in terms of black and white—Right or Wrong, Good or Bad. They crave certainty. But, as we age, we see the window move. We see that most things in this world are actually different shades of grey.
Even in something as deplorable as taking a life, there are shades of grey. Killing someone is morally wrong. But, if the state does it as the death penalty, then it is legally acceptable. If you do it in self-defence, it is debatable in court. If it occurs as collateral damage in war, it is justified.
In a podcast I was listening to, the guest referred to traffic speed limits. If 70 is the speed limit, do you really think 69 is fine but 71 is wrong? Someone somewhere decided that a line should be drawn, and they chose 70. It could just as well have been 69. If you apply mathematical induction to this thinking, you can take it to either extreme.
But, at the same time, these rules, however arbitrary, are essential for the functioning of a society. Mike Munger, in the EconTalk podcast, gives an example that drives home this point. Imagine if at every intersection, all the drivers had to get out, debate, and come up with rules on who goes first—how cumbersome would driving be?
Becoming an adult isn’t just realizing the world is grey; it’s realizing that we have to draw black-and-white lines over that grey to keep society functioning.
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