## Definition **Moralization** is the process by which a behaviour or preference that previously fell outside the moral domain is reclassified as a moral issue — a migration from "I dislike this" to "this must not happen (for everyone)." The reverse process, de-moralization, also occurs: historically, mental illness and homosexuality moved out of the moral domain once their non-volitional character was understood. ## Mechanism Malo, drawing on Paul Rozin's research, identifies two features that reliably predict moralization: 1. **Disgust linkage** — activities involving food, sex, or bodily integrity are the most susceptible to moralization because the disgust response was originally an evolved pathogen-avoidance system that has been co-opted to police moral purity. When something triggers disgust, the mind generates a moral verdict even when no third party is harmed (the famous Haidt "harmless taboo violations" — consensual adult incest, eating a sterilised dead pet — provoke strong moral condemnation with no articulable victim). 2. **Moral shock** — a vivid, emotionally charged triggering event (e.g., a documentary showing factory-farm conditions) can catalyse rapid moralization of a previously neutral practice. The process is accompanied by cost-benefit re-weighting, but the emotional shock typically precedes and shapes the rationalisation. Once a practice enters the moral domain, the individual's attitude towards it shifts characteristically: - The preference becomes universalised: it is no longer sufficient to abstain personally; others must also comply. - The practice acquires negative health attributions even where none previously existed. - Any exemption or trade-off feels like a betrayal of principle rather than a reasonable compromise. ## The Universalisation Drive The universalisation pressure is the core danger. Moral beliefs are experienced as categorical imperatives, not personal preferences. This transforms political disagreement — previously a negotiation between competing interests — into a battle between good and evil, eliminating the space for compromise that democratic governance requires. Malo uses the example of anti-smoking regulation: what began as a personal health preference became a moral crusade whose logic drove towards prohibition regardless of individual autonomy considerations. ## Cultural and Digital Amplification New moral domains can emerge and spread rapidly in networked societies. Because moral expressions attract attention (outrage and virtue-display both earn social rewards), social media platforms create selection pressure for the continuous production of new moral grievances. What is morally safe today may become heretical tomorrow — producing the hypermorality spiral Malo diagnoses in contemporary Western societies. ## Related - [[Evolutionary Origins of Morality]] - [[Moral Outrage]] - [[Virtue Signalling]] - [[Sacred Values]] - [[Moral Tribalism]] ## Sources - [[The Dangers of Morality (Malo 2021)]]