Victimhood: The most powerful force in morality and politics

Victimhood drives morality and politics. Morality evolved to protect people from victimization, and today morality still revolves around concerns about victimhood and harm. Unfortunately, liberals and conservatives often perceive different victims, which creates political division. In this review of the psychology of perceived victimhood, we demonstrate its power and complexity. First, we look at our evolutionary past to explore why victimhood is so psychologically powerful, and highlight one neglected fact about human nature: humans are more prey than predator. Second, we examine three different kinds of victimhood--individual, group, and moral--and how tension between them sets the stage for conflict. Third, we explore how victimhood matters in judgments of others. Perceived victimhood forms the core of moral judgments: people condemn acts based on how much they seem to victimize others. We also explore how people also typecast others as victims or victimizers. Fourth, we review when people see themselves as a victim, and how this licenses selfishness. Finally, we show how victimhood inflames moral and political division, but also how it can bridge divides through sharing and acknowledging experiences of suffering.