Victimhood: The Most Powerful Force in Morality and Politics

Abstract

Victimhood drives morality and politics. Morality evolved to protect from victimization, and today morality still revolves around concerns about victimhood and harm. Unfortunately, liberals and conservatives often identify different victims, creating political division. In this review of the psychology of perceived victimhood, we demonstrate its power and complexity. First, we look at evolution to explore why victimhood is so powerful, highlighting one neglected fact about human nature: humans are more prey than predator. Second, we examine three different definitions of what victimhood is based on understandings of individuals, groups, and morality, and how these definitions of victimhood can set the stage for conflict. Third, we explore how victimhood matters in judgments of others. It forms the core of moral judgments: people condemn acts based on how much these acts seem to victimize others. People also typecast others as victims or victimizers. Fourth, we review when people see themselves as a victim, and how this licenses selfishness. Finally, we show how victimhood inflames moral and political division, but also how it can bridge divides through sharing and acknowledging experiences of suffering.