Publication (142 pages).

Moral regulation necessarily involves
a distinct discourse that
allows the targeted behaviour to
be considered wrong (Hunt 1999).
tion and second-hand smoking laws. There is
currently less regulation being done by institutions
and more being done by members of
society who do not necessarily have any power
or expertise. This reflects a change in where
society gets its morals; previously morals were
disseminated via the bible and the state, however
the decline of religiosity prompted more
societally developed ideas of morality. Moral
regulation necessarily involves a distinct discourse
that allows the targeted
behaviour to be considered
wrong (Hunt 1999). In order
to build this discourse, there
are several aspects of moral
regulation required: a moralized
subject; an object; some
sort of knowledge; a discourse
within the knowledge that
dictates normative content;
in the middle, and below
(Hunt 1999). Above regulation
refers to changes in laws
and state advocacy groups.
Middle regulation is characterized
by other large but nonstate
groups or organizations.
Lower level positions include
non-organized or little-organized
groups or ‘grass-roots’
groups that utilize ground level
systems of advocacy such as
personal protests or hand-delivered
flyers. Each level is separate
but may join with other
levels in various formations to
Moral regulation lends
itself well to a constructivist
perspective of
social problems.
“The most important aspect of the
discourse is that some act or behaviour
has been deemed intrinsically
bad or wrong”
emphasize their project. This
means that there are several
authorities involved in the
process of moral regulation.
Occasionally moral regulation
is applied through institutions
and laws. Today there are for
example regulations to address
concerns over consumption,
including alcohol distribu-
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