No More Heroes: Contemporary Antisemitism and the West’s Culture of Victimhood

From FATHOM (November, 2024)

There was a time, not long ago, when societies built their stories around heroes. Now, the victim has dislodged the hero as the center of society’s focus of admiration and desire. We dreamed of being heroes, now we yearn to be considered victims.

Heroes and victims are very different. The hero sacrifices herself for the common good. She goes ‘out of herself’ and towards the other. The victim, however, withdraws into herself. The hero was rewarded by society for her merits, the victim for her suffering, real or imaginary. The culture that values heroes places demands of greatness on the hero, but the victim culture frees the victim from any demands. It gives the victims promissory notes that never expire and that can never be paid in full.

Read the full article by Andres Spokoiny in Fathom.