normative

In short, cultures create monster stories to establish what’s normative within that culture.

Putting the monster at the center means relegating the center—the normative—to the margins.

Among the media and political classes, the operating assumption at the moment is that Donald Trump — by any normative standard, a disastrously undisciplined and erratic candidate — is likely to win that election, even without resorting to skulduggery or mob violence.

“So many of the individuals that I work with have been directly harmed by normative financial advice that makes them feel bad for not adhering to some unexamined ideal,” said Sloane Ortel, chief investment officer at Ethical Capital.

Instead, racial attitudes and beliefs are a normative judgment about society, how it should be organized, and which groups and individuals should be privileged or not based on their perceived racial identity or other group membership.