From Progress to Resentment

To deal with the environmental burden and the overall challenge of a green transition and AI, ideally we would have a harmonious world society, capable of concerted action and solidarity for mitigation, adaptation, and regulation. Chapter 9 is about social sustainability and the risk of societies falling apart, undermining the capacity for concerted action. The French term “ ressentiment ” is used in philosophy and psychology to describe a psychological state of suppressed feelings of envy and hatred, and it is traced to the Enlightenment period in European modernization, but also to modern international and intranational antagonism. At a time of widespread immiseration and political rivalry even in the most advanced nations, we need to closely examine the forces of disintegration and corruption of states.