Victimhood sanctification produces negative societal externalities that critics argue outweigh its protective function.
Evidence
These discussions suggest that victimhood sanctification, or treating victim status as a sacred value, which emerged as a natural reaction to the historical victimization of minority groups, should now be reconsidered due to its collateral damages (i.e., negative societal externalities; Graso et al. 2020). Moreover, competitive victimhood is characteristic of identity politics, in which demands for recognition are based on categories such as race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, all of which are linked to these groups’ victim status (see, for example, Steele 1990). Fukuyama (2018) argues that identity politics undermines the foundation of liberal democracy [see also Mounk’s (2023) discussion of the identity trap] and advocates for reverting to the principle of universal recognition, where all individuals, regardless of their background, are entitled to recognition of their inherent dignity by others and by society as a whole [see also Boehm’s (2022) notion of radical universalism]. — Nurit Shnabel and Johannes Ullrich, Identity Needs in Intergroup Relations, 136
Categorization
- XREF: This contradicts the reader’s existing synthesis asymmetry claim: victim groups’ agentic-identity restoration through victimhood sanctification may come with collateral costs at the societal level that the restorative narrative overlooks. — connects to: Glorifying one’s own group drives dehumanization of victims and lowered justice demands. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2118; Allport held that victimization can yield protective rather than pathological traits — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 928
- QUESTION: Worth chasing: does the ‘negative externalities’ argument against victimhood sanctification apply unevenly to victim vs. perpetrator groups, or does it risk blaming the victim group for its own protective strategy?
Broader Connections
- Allport held that victimization can yield protective rather than pathological traits
#qualifies(0.82) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 928 - Glorifying one’s own group drives dehumanization of victims and lowered justice demands.
#responds-to(0.75) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2118