Society
Exploring "Why" questions about Society
480 articles
Why are Tony Blair and George W Bush not in prison for war crimes?
I cannot say for Tony Blair beyond the fact that going after a countries leader is a very complicated thing. For Bush it is the fact that the US has not signed the ICC agreements and gives no authorit
Why is online poker and sports betting illegal in the US, but these “fantasy” betting sites are running wild?
Because federal law has specific exemptions for fantasy sports leagues, as long as it's not a front for betting on the games themselves.
Why have Christianity and Islam been so successful?
They are both religions that place a heavy emphasis on evangelizing and spreading the word, and were both adopted by peoples who were highly mobile, both as traders and invaders.
Why do dictators (of people strongly connected to them i.e. family) in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Syria and China to some extent still have to hide their money in off shore tax havens when the…
Dictators sometimes get deposed and have to flee. It's handy to have a huge fortune elsewhere when you're running for your life.
Why do they count movie sales in money made and not tickets sold?
The movie industry is not about people viewing primarily, that's a consequence. The movie industry is about people making money. It's like a factory that turns out entertainment units.
Why is the hiring practice so much more difficult for minimum wage jobs than skilled labor?
I think part of it is weeding people out. The other part of it is that for skilled labor you usually have some other credentials that make the tests given at DQ pointless. If you have a bachelor's deg
Why can’t people in the US sue individual police officers like we can doctors?
The state asserts "sovereign immunity". In other words, you can't sue the King (or the King's agents, etc.) unless the King agrees to let you. We don't have a King, but our government retains sovereig
Why does paper money have serial numbers but coins do not?
Serial numbers are an anti-counterfeiting measure. The US government is not seriously concerned about people counterfeiting coins because of the difficulty and extremely low reward for the risk.
Why is Bill Cosby not in prison yet?
Because 1. The statute of limitations for the crimes Cosby is accused of has passed. 2.
Why did people lose their retirement funds during the recession? Wasn’t it protected or guaranteed?
Sensible investors didn't lose anything. The proper way to save for retirement is to automatically rebalance your portfolio as you get closer to retirement age. Basically there are some investments th