In 1993, the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan published a report called "Defining Deviancy Down." The report, subtitled "How We've Become Accustomed to Alarming Levels of Crime and Destructive Behavior," was shocking not because of its blunt assessment of today's culture, but that it was written by a popular "liberal."
I put the word in quotes because Moynihan defied such plebian classification. Rather, we can more truthfully label him a rare "intellectual" in the field of politics. Indeed, true partisan liberals decried Moynihan's report while conservatives cite it favorably to this day.
In light of the current debate on the Fiduciary Rule, Moynihan's 1993 argument offers some alarmingly instructive insights. For instance, read this passage from pages 100-101 of "Defining Deviancy Down":
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