Resentment: The Complexity of an Emotion and its Effect on Politics
Oct 10, 2023
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The podcast discusses the complexity of resentment, its relationship with identity politics and forgiveness in divided societies. Topics include Nietzsche's views on resentment, generational conflict, and the productive side of resentment for social change.
Resentment is a complex emotion involving moral outrage and violated expectations, not just simple anger.
Nietzsche viewed resentment as linked to submissiveness, slave morality, and the inversion of traditional values.
Deep dives
Complexity of Resentment and its Role in Politics
Resentment is a complex emotion that goes beyond simple feelings of anger or indignation. It involves a mix of thinking and feeling, involving more psychological reflection. Resentment is not just about feeling injured but also about a sense of moral outrage and a violation of expectations. This emotional complexity invites interrogation into what resentment truly means, how it relates to moral injury, and the importance of violated expectations.
Nietzsche's Analysis of Resentment
Nietzsche's analysis of resentment portrayed it as a negative emotion, particularly linked to slave morality and the betrayal of traditional values. He viewed resentment as a psychological disposition that inculcates submissiveness and undermines strength and heroism. Nietzsche's portrayal of resentment as a slave morality linked it to the emergence of Christianity, highlighting the inversion of values that he believed plagued Western civilization.
Resentment in Contemporary Politics
Resentment manifests in contemporary politics in two main forms: a 'left behind and threatened worldview' among Trump supporters and a broader societal resentment rooted in the modern world's failure to uphold equality principles. The 'left behind' resentment reflects a sense of loss, threat, and rebellion against changing societal norms, while broader societal resentment stems from unmet expectations of equality and democracy.
Productive Aspect of Resentment and Generational Conflict
Resentment can also have a productive side, where it serves as a tool to address moral grievances and demand acknowledgment of harm. Resentment, when wielded as a means of highlighting unaddressed grievances, can push for a reckoning with the past and prevent moving forward without proper acknowledgment. Moreover, a generational conflict arises, depicting a younger generation facing economic challenges, housing issues, and student debt, creating a sense of disaffection and hindering prospects for social mobility.
In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Rob Schneider, Professor of History at Indiana University-Bloomington, about the political effects of resentment. Schneider begins by discussing the psychological complexity of resentment and then delves into its understanding by other authors such as Nietzsche and its relationship with Catholicism. Moving forward, Schneider discusses how resentment is related to identity politics and how some sectors of the population have been neglected on the basis of the claim that they are privileged. Finally, he elaborates on the making of forgiveness in divided societies and how it is often imposed on some who are not yet ready to forgive.
International Horizons is a podcast of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies that brings scholarly expertise to bear on our understanding of international issues. John Torpey, the host of the podcast and director of the Ralph Bunche Institute, holds conversations with prominent scholars and figures in state-of-the-art international issues in our weekly episodes.