Dominant groups that lose status develop intense resentments that fuel political conflict

Evidence

For every winner in status group battles, there must also be losers. The pioneering sociologist Max Weber found that dominant groups that tumble down the hierarchy develop particularly strong resentments: “The more they feel threatened, the greater is their bitterness.” Status envy is a common source of conflict in multiethnic states. When the majority Buddhist Sinhalese lost their monopoly on political power in Sri Lanka and the government started to provide job opportunities for Tamils, the Sinhalese rioted. Recent political turmoil in the United States also appears to resemble status envy. The political scientists Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart write, “The interwar generation of non-college educated white men—until recently the politically and socially dominant group in Western cultures—has passed a tipping point at which their hegemonic status, power, and privilege are fading.” The Trump voting bloc continues to embrace older status beliefs anchored in ascribed racial, gender, and religious hierarchies, which are losing influence in a more diverse society. As long-disadvantaged groups gain status, this bloc complains about a decrease in esteem for people like themselves. A pro-Trump store owner and nurse in Baldwin, Michigan, told pollsters, “There is no respect for anyone who is just average and trying to do the right things.” — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 103

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the cultural-conflict theme in the Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist reading and to status-driven backlash literatures. — connects to: Government-led reconciliation action matches imperfectly the group that caused historical harm — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 802; Dominant groups also suffer insecurity when their status seems threatened; Perceived threat to in-group status evokes greater political conservatism. — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 12 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• A threatened dominant group shifts from paternalistic to openly hostile stereotypes #exemplifies (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2757
• Dominant groups also suffer insecurity when their status seems threatened #expands (0.82)
• Group grievances take four distinct forms that trigger politicization #expands (0.78) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4423
• Perceived threat to in-group status evokes greater political conservatism. #corroborates (0.75) — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 12
• Dominant groups frame subordinate challenges as illegitimate pushiness #exemplifies (0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3415