More on ressentiment.

3 thoughts on “More on ressentiment.”

1. I gotta ask — what’s the difference between “ressentiment” and plain old “resentment”?Report

2. Resentment is having an emotion of anger over and over without resolution — ressentiment explains the cause and effect of the emotion — in this case a reaction formation caused by a feeling of inferiority which creates the effect of demonizing the subject of the emotion which the person secretly fears is superior, but a threat. It’s a means of protecting oneself from being culpable.

   Actually, everyone is excited because it’s a French word. The simple fact is that the TPers think the left is wack.Report

3. It is misleading to say that ressentiment is a French word, because it is also an English one. It is a psycological term that describes a feeling of resentment and hostility toward what a person perceives to be the cause of those feelings. It is an ascribing of blame for such feelings to the actions of other people.

   Julian’s analysis is astute in the way that he focuses like a laser on the actual observed behavior of a very large group of people. His thesis has so much to it that I believe it is impossible to completely refute. His is the best popular analysis of political behavior that I have read in years. In my opinion, everyone should read and understand it.Report

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