The Invention of Moral Narrative

Published: Jan. 31, 2018, 1:23 p.m.

b'

H/T Robin Hanson: Aeon\\u2019s\\xa0The Good Guy / Bad Guy Myth. \\u201cPop culture today is obsessed with the battle between good and evil. Traditional folktales never were. What changed?\\u201d

The article claims almost every modern epic \\u2013 superhero movies, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc \\u2013 shares a similar plot. There are some good guys. There are some bad guys. They fight. The good guys win. The end.

The good guys are usually scrappy amateurs; the bad guys usually well-organized professionals with typical fascist precision. The good guys usually demonstrate a respect for human life and the bonds of friendship; the bad guys betray their citizens and their underlings with equal abandon. They gain their good guy or bad guy status by either following the universal law, or breaking it.

'