The Polemics of Ressentiment : Variations on Nietzsche

The rise of populism, cynicism, fanaticism and fundamentalism challenges us to reconsider the problem of "ressentiment". Characterized by Nietzsche as the self-poisoning of the will through internalising trauma in the form of a postponed and imaginary revenge, the concept of "ressentiment" is making a comeback in politicaldiscourse. Unlike resentment, the feeling of injustice, "ressentiment" is an intrinsically polemical notion. It implies a political drama in which there is no inherent good sense in its application and no universal criterion. Drawing on psychoanalysis, political theory, media theory and philosophy, this book examines a wide variety of ideological contexts, offering an examination of the divergent senses in which the concept of "ressentiment "is used today. [Publisher's Text]

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