Overview

Is shame dead? With personal information made so widely available, an eroding public/private distinction, and a therapeutic turn in public discourse, many seem to think so. People across the political spectrum have criticized these developments and sought to resurrect shame in order to protect privacy and invigorate democratic politics. Democracy and the Death of Shame reads the fear that 'shame is dead' as an expression of anxiety about the social disturbance endemic to democratic politics. Far from an essential supplement to democracy, the recurring call to 'bring back shame' and other civilizing mores is a disciplinary reaction to the work of democratic citizens who extend the meaning of political equality into social realms. Rereadings from the ancient Cynics to the mid-twentieth century challenge the view that shame is dead and show how shame, as a politically charged idea, is disavowed, invoked, and negotiated in moments of democratic struggle.

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9781107635906

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'Jill Locke has a big point to make about the recurring role that what she calls 'the lament that shame is dead' plays in stifling expressions of genuine democracy. But she is also highly attuned to the subtle differences that have governed the nature and effects of this lament in different cultural and political contexts, from ancient Greece to twentieth-century Little Rock, making Democracy and the Death of Shame an exemplary work of scholarship at the intersection of political theory and history.' Sophia Rosenfeld, Yale University 'Jill Locke has written a great book in political theory. From the Ancient Greeks to Rousseau to Andrew Jackson to Hannah Arendt, she traces what she calls the 'lament': those outside of the political mainstream become 'shameless' in their desire for change. With great subtlety and careful research, Locke defends those who would bring new issues to democratic politics and forces us to rethink our standard views about what emotions should count in politics.' Joan C. Tronto, University of Minnesota 'In this extraordinary and profound book, Locke argues that egalitarian political moments have throughout history provoked laments from elites that shame is dead. Working as a historian, Locke offers us a genealogy of this 'lament'; working as a political theorist, she offers a powerful cautionary tale to those who hope to tap into shame in pursuit of egalitarian ends.' Danielle Allen, Harvard University

Author Information

Jill Locke is a Professor of Political Science at Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota.

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