Authors should write long‑span, civilization‑scale stories that portray morals and values shifting rapidly alongside technology and power, rather than assuming static moral outlooks across generations. These 'unstable‑morals' epics would make cultural evolution a first‑order plot element and show how arbitrary or contingent value changes reshape societies over centuries.
— If popular culture begins to model morals as unstable, public debate about policy, historical responsibility, and moral reform may shift from static moral certainties to managing rapid cultural change.
Robin Hanson
2026.04.14
100% relevant
Robin Hanson's explicit call: 'I’d like to see authors try to write big stories, of whole civilizations over long timescales, that more realistically depict cultural instability.'
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