The League

More on ressentiment.

by William Brafford · December 21, 2009

William Brafford

William Brafford grew up in North Carolina, home of the world's best barbecue, indie rock, and regional soft drinks. He just barely sustains a personal blog and "tweets" every now and then under the name @williamrandolph.

Mike Schilling says:

December 25, 2009 at 4:45 pm

I gotta ask — what’s the difference between “ressentiment” and plain old “resentment”?Report
mike farmer says:

December 25, 2009 at 10:35 pm

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
George Copeland says:

January 8, 2010 at 5:47 pm

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