[inquest]

You're equating modernity with clothes? In my observation, our society has been getting nuder over the past few decades, and more neurotic over the past few decades. I can't think of too many problems today that can be solved by encouraging people to run around naked, but I can think of plenty of problems that can be solved, or greatly alleviated, by teaching kids that self-"expression" (either bodily or in some other in-your-face nonverbal manner) is not the way to make healthy contributions to society.

[garbanzo]

----In my observation, our society has been getting nuder over the past few decades, and more neurotic over the past few decades.

I think we're getting more schizophrenic - we have a mixed set of values. In some ways we are more open but in others we are hopelessly Victorian. We can acess nudity on the internet but not on TV. We can say things in one place but not another. We wind up having to live six different lives to please all sorts of pretended authorities and it takes a toll on us.


--- I can think of plenty of problems that can be solved, or greatly alleviated, by teaching kids that self-"expression" (either bodily or in some other in-your-face nonverbal manner) is not the way to make healthy contributions to society. ----

The question is whether or not making a contribution to society outweighs an individual's need for happiness.