Contradictory ideologies that assert change is either trivial or impossible both suppress collective guilt

Evidence

This perspective also leads us to consider general beliefs, ideologies and lay theories relevant to intergroup relations in terms of their implicit level of deterrence to collective guilt. Interestingly, the theory of emotional intensity suggests that belief systems which have opposite meanings can have similar implications for collective guilt. For instance, the theory suggests that collective guilt should be low if one’s theory of intergroup relations suggests that establishing more egalitarian relations requires very little effort or cost, and if one’s theory of intergroup relations suggests that egalitarian relations are impossible to achieve. Thus, the theory of emotional intensity may offer some insights into the ways in which apparently contradictory social beliefs can result in similar psychological (and political) ends. — Michael T. Schmitt, Daniel A. Miller, Nyla R. Branscombe, and Jack W. Brehm, The Difficulty of Making Reparations…, 79

Categorization

• QUESTION: This inverted-U logic — guilt peaks at intermediate difficulty, not at greatest ease — directly bears on the reader’s question of whether reparations cost modulates guilt; does it imply a mid-level cost maximizes guilt?
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s institutional-apology-asymmetry synthesis: opposite belief structures converging on the same affective end echoes the asymmetry claim that institutions’ apology responses diverge from individuals’. — connects to: Collective guilt motivates intergroup change only under favorable conditions. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 89; The English ruling class neutralizes change by declaring it impossible then inevitable — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1959; The belief that change is impossible dissolves the obligation to act — Anna Kornbluh, Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late…, 316

Broader Connections

• The belief that change is impossible dissolves the obligation to act #corroborates (0.85) — Anna Kornbluh, Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late…, 316