Ressentiment

Ressentiment is a philosophical and psychological term, usually translated as resentment or ressentiment, describing a persistent form of negative affect that arises when a person cannot act on their genuine impulses or achieve their goals. It entails inward hostility, envy, and a tendency to condemn or invert values rather than directly confronting the source of frustration.

The concept is most closely associated with Friedrich Nietzsche, who analyzes ressentiment in On the Genealogy of Morality as a central mechanism in the development of what he calls slave morality. According to Nietzsche, the powerless, unable to assert themselves, internalize their hostility and create moral values that redefine “good” and “evil” to condemn the actions and traits of the powerful. This moral inversion serves to justify weakness as virtue and to sanctify resentment as a governing principle of ethics.

In Nietzschean and subsequent interpretive use, ressentiment is not merely anger but a long-term, value-creating sentiment that shapes judgments, culture, and social norms. It can contribute to punitive attitudes, social envy, and political or moral rhetoric that masks underlying power dynamics. Critics have applied the concept beyond philosophy, using it to analyze contemporary moral debates, cultural criticism, and social resentment in modern societies.

See also: resentment, slave morality, master morality, Nietzsche, genealogy of morality.