Regulation by Ridicule: Humorous Denigration as a Regulatory Instrument

This article analyzes ridicule as a regulatory instrument. It discusses the nature and forms of ridicule, its functions across time and cultures, then reviews its place within the paradigm of regulatory pluralism. Ridicule is hardly a regulatory panacea, but it has significant potential to mobilize public interest constituencies, and to raise the consciousness of members of the public who might not otherwise be attuned to conventional policy discourse. This is particularly the case since the advent of social media.