( usually the permissive society ) n [ sing ] (often disapprov )
the social conditions and attitudes in countries such as Britain and the US in the 1960s and 1970s, when there was a new freedom of sexual behaviour and a greater willingness to tolerate different ways of living. These changes were originally made by younger people, and developed from ideas such as flower power and the hippie culture. Some people blame the permissive society for modern problems like the use of illegal drugs, lack of respect for authority and low moral standards.