Ressentiment (French pronunciation: [rəsɑ̃timɑ̃]), in philosophy and psychology, is one of the forms of resentment or hostility. It is the French word for "resentment" (fr. Latin intensive prefix 're', and 'sentir' "to feel"). Ressentiment is a sense of hostility directed at that which one identifies as the cause of one's frustration, that is, an assignment of blame for one's frustration. The sense of weakness or inferiority and perhaps jealousy in the face of the "cause" generates a rejecting/justifying value system, or morality, which attacks or denies the perceived source of one's frustration. The ego creates an enemy in order to insulate itself from culpability.
The man who, from lack of external enemies and resistances and forcibly confined to the oppressive narrowness and punctiliousness of custom, impatiently lacerated, persecuted, gnawed at, assaulted, and maltreated himself; this animal that rubbed itself raw against the bars of its cage as one tried to "tame" it... this fool, this yearning and desperate prisoner, became the inventor of the "bad conscience.
The most decisive act, however, that the supreme power performs and accomplishes against the predominance of grudges and rancour - it always takes this action when it is strong enough to do so - is the institution of law, the imperative declaration of what countsin general as permitted, as just, in its eyes, and what counts as forbidden, as unjust...
"Just" and "unjust" exist, accordingly, only after the institutions of law... to speak of just or unjust in itself is quite senseless; in itself, of course, no injury, assault, exploitation, destruction can be "unjust," since life operates essentially, that is in its basic functions, through injury, assault, exploration, destruction, and simply cannot be thought of at all without this character.... A legal order thought of as sovereign and universal, not as a means of struggle between power-complexes but as a means of preventing all struggle in general... would be a principle hostile to life, an agent of the dissolution and destruction of man, an attempt to assassinate the future of man, a sign of weariness, a secret path to nothingness.
I understand the premise, but I also think it a bit too focused on the United States as being unique in this aspect.
I'd suggest it is uniquely saturated with réssentiment, if not solely responsible for it, because of its lack of experience with anything approximating the true aristocracy of Europe and Asia. All men can be resentful, of course, but the innoculation of aristocratic forms of organization can help blunt its political manifestations. This doesn't always hold good - Nazi Germany, for example - but it's true enough to be a useful rule of thumb.
Perhaps it would be useful to receive some input from the Europeans regarding class clashes or occupation conflicts. An American may perceive incorrectly the politics of another region.
Perhaps it would be useful to receive some input from the Europeans regarding class clashes or occupation conflicts. An American may perceive incorrectly the politics of another region.
Since the rich in this country in fact exploit working people, and since they mostly inherit their wealth, the OP's premise is false.
By the way, using Nietzsche as a guide to cultural analysis is pretty dubious, given his easy appropriation by the Nazis and his complete inability to live a normal productive life. The man didn't even know how to ask a girl out for a date.
Wikipedia provides the following definition for the term:
Nietzsche, who brought the term into more precise usage, gave a more compelling history of the origins of such feeling in On The Genealogy Of Morals:
In sum, réssentiment is the agitation a man feels against those whose social positions are superior to his own. He rankles against privilege, even where it is well-earned; he castigates any hierarchy he does not number in.
And he does this primarily by inventing an imagined oppression. He gives the lash to the hand he wants so badly to crack it over himself.
Two recent examples, one from each end of the political spectrum in America, will suffice to demonstrate this fact.
The Christian Reverend Al Sharpton has pledged to organise a "march for justice" in the case of Trayvon Martin. But what is justice if not law, the antithesis of all marches? Nietzsche anticipates this inversion of "justice":
I understand the premise, but I also think it a bit too focused on the United States as being unique in this aspect.
IMO, he's gone a bit too far with the whole "there are no victims" shtick
Should the master really have a bad conscience just because he's in the position to own slaves?
Uhm, yes, he should.
It's not Idi Amins' fault that he was blessed with the power to eat his opponents.
That's just how it is in the jungle we call civilization :shrug:
We're obsessed with a kind of morals that cares for the weak, poor and submissive.
Empathy doesn't exist in nature. It's an invention of the devil
Sorry, I'm missing context. So I don't know if you're being serious or joking ... nor do I know which philosophy you follow, so it's really hard for me to respond appropriately.
I understand. My humor can be quite dry and sarcastic at times.
.......and who's more resentful than a white guy seeing a successful black man?
In their minds ...isn't his success (the black guy) almost always because the government took away their (whites) money and gave it to them (the blacks)?
Look at the black athletes ...look how quickly they are ...thuger-zed....when they are successful and confident.
Why are whites so furious when they see the growing power of the Chinese for example ....you think there's some resentment there? The Chinese are the smartest people on the planet with a hard working culture....why is their success always viewed as if they stole it?
I think I agree with the underlying premise of this post.
.......and who's more resentful than a white guy seeing a successful black man?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?