Condemning egoism shields the successful from doubts and leaves inequality untouched.

Evidence

An abhorrence of egoism is able to protect those who are successful from any doubts about their success which might arise if those who are less successful were to emulate them without any restraint. The accusation of egoism, which anthropology opposes either through the assertion of a more noble human nature or by simply branding it as bestiality, does not basically affect the ambitions of the powerful for power, the existence of prosperity alongside misery, or the preservation of outmoded and unjust forms of society. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 201

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Reframes moral anti-egoism as a structural defense of privilege rather than a neutral ethical stance — the kind of inversion worth sitting with.
• XREF: Connects to Marxian ideology-critique and to the Frankfurt School’s later work on the authoritarian character’s moral self-justifications. — connects to: Denunciations of egoism leave power imbalances and inequality untouched — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 736; Believing in equal opportunity lets advantaged groups justify status inequality and avoid collective guilt. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 202; Advantaged groups avoid guilt by denying inequality or dodging responsibility — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 1844 (+2 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Denunciations of egoism leave power imbalances and inequality untouched — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 736; Believing in equal opportunity lets advantaged groups justify status inequality and avoid collective guilt. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 202; Advantaged groups avoid guilt by denying inequality or dodging responsibility — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 1844 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Denunciations of egoism leave power imbalances and inequality untouched #corroborates (0.98) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 736