Perhaps the single greatest social mistake the West has made in recent years is to accept that humour should take a back seat to kindness. In the name of sympathetic kindness we have deprived ourselves of something much more important: a way to reach each other across the divide of our differences. In short, to build empathy.

Researchers believe that laughter has acted as the social glue which allowed us to come together into increasingly complex societies. It promotes co-operation, can dampen aggression and overcome conflict. In fact, laughter has been such a successful evolutionary strategy that we learnt to find it sexy. The more you laugh, the more you … well, let’s just say it’s a popular selection criterion on dating apps these days.

Not always a laughing matter: comedian Dave Chapelle was cancelled for making a point. Credit: Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP

We could sure use a tool that dampens aggression and overcomes conflict right now, as wars rage around the world, fraying social cohesion in Australia. In particular, we could use a bit of that warm, ribbing, teasing humour that made Australia arguably the world’s most successfully integrated multicultural society. The fire under our melting pot was laughter.

As Australia grows more diverse, both by migration and identification, we need more than ever to joke our way together. The bigger the pot, the more fire we need. And yet, at exactly the moment we need it most, laughter has never been more out of vogue.

To find out how this ends, look to any other anglophone country. The United States, where they still can’t figure out irony, sometimes looks to be on the brink of civil war. The United Kingdom, which once had a vibrant comedy culture, is reduced to Keep Calm and Drink Tea memes. Social tension in Britain is escalating. In the place of jokes, they literally have lists of the things you must not find funny.

Russian-British political commentator and comedian Konstantin Kisin has been handed such a list. Kisin was performing on the UK comedy circuit when he was asked to sign a contract before appearing, unpaid, at a charity event. The contract stipulated that “all topics must be presented in a way that is respectful and kind”. The contract went on to warn that the organiser had a no-tolerance policy on “racism, sexism, classism, ageism, ableism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia or anti-religion or anti-atheism”.

But of course, what an “ism”, “anti”, or “ia” is, these days, is up to a militia of offence-takers who scour speech on their own and other’s behalf. A list of unkindnesses like the one in the contract recognises no distinction between the individual and the idea.

Being able to lampoon ideas is vital. Ideas kill, or at least people kill for them. They are resistant to argument, but vulnerable to humour. Laughter can kill ideas. It was crucial to the fall of the Soviet Union. Sure, some people might feel offended when their ideas are lampooned. After all, there is nothing more unkind to an emperor than telling him he has no clothes.