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The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism

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"The whole world hates us, and we deserve it: that is what most Europeans think, at least in Western Europe". That quote is the thesis of this book by French thinker Pascal Bruckner that examines anti-Western guilt and neurosis in Europe (and, to a lesser extent, America) today.

Elites on both sides of the Atlantic are animated by hatred of the West and denounce it vehemently in an attempt to make the West feel eternally guilty for its past wrongs, and think that anyone who stands up for Western Europe or nations such as Israel or the United States is beyond the pale of respectability.

Bruckner sees in this attitude an inverted superiority complex, a sort of "You don't realize how evil Europe, America, and Western Civilization are and I do, therefore I'm more moral and enlightened than you are" type of preening narcissistic grandstanding.

The author acknowledges the West's crimes, but states that Europe, unlike Islam, is "like a jailer who throws you into prison and slips you the keys to your cell", bringing the world both despotism and liberty. For example, the West did not invent slavery, but played a major role in its abolition. Bruckner states that no country was not founded on crime and coercion, but only the West's crimes are remembered by the elites, who have one set of rules for designated victim nations and another, more stringent set for designated oppressor nations.

Bruckner thinks that Europe's guilty conscience stems from a desire to withdraw after the horrors of the twentieth century. Europe, he believes, does not feel that it any longer has the moral authority to stand up to evil, so instead it tolerates the evil around it, leading it to "take up residence in a peaceful hell".

The author provides suggestions for Europe to get out of its funk, such as having a statute of limitations for past offenses that have been repented of--being forever chained to the past injects emotional paralysis and does not free one to live in the present.

Bruckner examines European anti-Semitism, and closes this remarkable volume by comparing France to the United States, showing that America does not have the anti-West mindset to the same degree that Europe does.

This is just the kind of book I like to read coming out of Europe. It is critical of the Intellectual Class of the continent and critical of America as well. Both the US and the EU need to work together in the world today and that means compromise. The US needs to cool its heals but keep its conviction and passion. Europe needs to stop sulking and second guessing and do something. Bruckner says as much in this book.

It is a fairly easy read not requiring the reader to have a background in philosophy or theory to follow his message. It is a bit Franco-centric but he is French and his original audience was the French, so that is easily excusable-- and if you can't stand that you can just skip one of those middle chapters and not miss too much.

Though I don't agree with him completely, I agree more often than I don't. I also am quite fond of some of the intellectuals that he criticizes-- especially Derrida--, but I have always seemed to like their theory and philosophy much more than their politics. Their politics seem to be a bit detached from reality and idealistic (or, if you want to be unflattering about it: wimpy and indecisive when it comes to actual actions and specific circumstances) and this is what Bruckner points out.

Bruckner analyzes the source of Western civilization's current suicidal tendencies and finds them largely in the colonial experience. He owes up to the mistakes and crimes that the countries of Western Europe (and America) have made, but points out that the West not only stops its bad behavior, such as slavery, communism, colonialism, and fascism, but also creates a dominant discourse that prevents backsliding. What other civilization has that track record, to paraphrase Bruckner. Western guilt is designed to prevent another holocaust or abuse of third world countries, but it goes too far, failing to protect and celebrate the good that the West has produced. He is observant and complementary about the United States without gushing. He also notes that the current conflict between the West and the rest ultimately lay in the realm of ideas. Bruckner's writing is among the best I've ever encountered, and in some ways it is the best book I have ever read. His statements, quotes and expressions are not only brilliant and insightful, but are also expressed more artfully than you will see, well, anywhere else. You will underline half of some pages, the quotes are so spot on. He simply has a greater grasp of language than most authors of any stripe.
Highest recommendation.

Europe is wallowing in a malaise of self-pity. Hoping to be left alone, to live out its last days as a "living museum", it admits to all of its faults and neglects its history of worthwhile leadership and universal genius. This is where Europe stands - especially France.

Admittedly it has been responsible for significant suffering and bloodshed, but it has also sought and found solutions - human rights, genuine self-appraisal, respect for worthwhile principles. So Bruckner asks: How can the Islamic world, Africa, Latin America and Russia lambaste Europe when they have done so little and Europe so much to arrive at these solutions? Why should Europe alone take responsibility for human darkness when it is present in and indulged by all human societies?

Bruckner writes with a vivacity that belies his subject. And therein lies the hope: "we have to change ourselves, undertake a complete reversal of values" (p. 216). By joining with America, the virtues of Europe and America can be combined to offer leadership and overcome their respective weaknesses - exuberance and sensibility, passion and reason, confidence and self-criticism - in order to "bring together the two confused halves of the West" (p.217).

Length:: 5:40 Mins

This is a wonderful book that examines the pathology that is western auto-guilt.

It's a sad indictment of our intellectual climate that not many have bothered to review this philosophical masterpiece. I use the word philosophy is its original Nietzschean sense of smashing idols. Don't be put off by the bloke being French though, because Pascal Bruckner is not a typical pampered cafe professor; he is a real intellectual, he's smart and he can write. Bruckner made his name with his novel writings and so he has gained the freedom to write the truth. Most academics self sensor themselves, or they feed off the troth of government funding or research grants, and so this is why the academy is mostly silent of these issues and this is a good reason as any to read The Tyranny of Guilt.

The Tyranny of Guilt is a master class in how to demolish the cult of our narcissistic pleasuring ourselves with guilt tendencies and how to take the air out of politically correct winbaggery. Pascal is especially good at pointing out that today's white intellectuals masochistic arguments that the West's slow retreating roar, up its own cowardly backside, is not a good thing. Islam is the big boo hoo in the book and even though books on (evil) Islam are becoming a cottage industry, the clear thinkers are actually correct on this one. It's only the bribed (my conspiracy theory) and the comfortable white intellectuals who refuse to see the contradictions in, to use Christopher Hitchens term, "one way multiculturalism".

What these critics are saying, if anything, is that the writers on this area are obviously not horrid racist types because 1; Islam is not a race or an ethnicity, nor is it a religion, but rather, Islam is an ideology that excretes idiocy everywhere is goes, like an angry toilet, to become the basis of a vicious personality cult and 2; Hindus and Sikhs and basically most brown people who are not Muslim, write the best critiques of the life denying nihilism that troubles the cowardly (or bribed maybe?) West.

This is an admirable translation too.

This is a decent book treating a serious issue. However, it is not absolutely correct that "guilt" is the motivator or even the primary motivator in what determines actions of entire populations. The real danger, some of us believe, is that many may interpret the author's meaning as excusing or minimizing what has previously happened and why. That, to some of us would be the biggest catastrophe of all. Many points made by the author are worthy of serious consideration but, from a historian's standpoint, if it leads to ignorance of the past or not learning about it, would constitute a great disservice. It should be read by those who do have a background in history, specifically intellectual history, otherwise the author's conclusion may be misinterpreted.