Book contents
- For, Against, Together
- STUDIES IN EMOTION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION
- For, Against, Together
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Rethinking Affective Antagonism
- Part IEmotional Politics and Political Emotions
- Part IIHostile Antagonistic Political Emotions
- Chapter 3Yard Sign Politics
- Chapter 4Ressentiment and Identity
- Chapter 5Collective Victimhood
- Chapter 6Do We Share a Moral Order?
- Part IIIComplicating Narratives of Antagonism
- Part IVUnmasking Antagonism
- Part VSpaces of Antagonism
- Index
- STUDIES IN EMOTION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION
- References
Chapter 5 - Collective Victimhood
The Shallow Social Bond of Ressentiment
from Part II - Hostile Antagonistic Political Emotions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2026
Book contents
- For, Against, Together
- STUDIES IN EMOTION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION
- For, Against, Together
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Rethinking Affective Antagonism
- Part IEmotional Politics and Political Emotions
- Part IIHostile Antagonistic Political Emotions
- Chapter 3Yard Sign Politics
- Chapter 4Ressentiment and Identity
- Chapter 5Collective Victimhood
- Chapter 6Do We Share a Moral Order?
- Part IIIComplicating Narratives of Antagonism
- Part IVUnmasking Antagonism
- Part VSpaces of Antagonism
- Index
- STUDIES IN EMOTION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION
- References
Summary
This chapter explores how victimhood identities threaten liberal democracies from within. It identifies three atypical forms: (1) dominant group self-victimisation, (2) enduring intergenerational victimhood narratives and (3) victimhood culture within the progressive left. Existing research often overlooks these phenomena, focusing instead on genuine victims of oppression. Using the lens of ressentiment, we distinguish ressentimentful victimhood – driven by moral superiority, resentment and peer validation – from paradigmatic victimhood, grounded in empathy and solidarity. We argue that neoliberal socio-economic and ideological conditions nurture ressentiment, making victimhood identities attractive. Ressentimentful victimhood manifests as disruption of empathy, moral elitism, rumination, competition, collective narcissism and the inability to forgive, reinforcing self-pity and moral hypermnesia. In contrast, paradigmatic victimhood fosters inclusive identities, empathy towards others and democratic reintegration through restorative justice. By distinguishing these types, we present ressentimentful victimhood as a destabilising moral stance that erodes democratic solidarity while distinguishing it from paradigmatic forms that sustain social cohesion.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- For, Against, TogetherRethinking Antagonistic Political Emotions, pp. 107 - 127Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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