What explains the perpetual need for political enemies? | Aeon Essays

Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, 1 May 2020. Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters is professor of philosophy at Boston University. His most recent books include The Nietzschean Self (2016), Philosophy of Devotion (2022) and, as editor, Fanaticism and the History of Philosophy (2023). Edited bySam Dresser Listen to this essay 25 minute listen Some people seem driven more by what they oppose, reject and hate than by what they promote, affirm and revere. Their political commitments, personal identities and emotional lives appear to be structured more by opposition, resentment and hostility than by a positive set of ideals or aspirations. Tucker Carlson, a prominent Right-wing television host and former Fox News anchor, has no shortage of enemies. On his shows, he has condemned gender-neutral pronouns, immigrants, the removal of Confederate statues, mainstream media, the FBI and CIA, globalism, paper straws, big tech, foreign aid, school curricula, feminism,

Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, 1 May 2020. Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters is professor of philosophy at Boston University. His most recent books include The Nietzschean Self (2016), Philosophy of Devotion (2022) and, as editor, Fanaticism and the History of Philosophy (2023). Edited bySam Dresser Listen to this essay 25 minute listen Some people seem driven more by what they oppose, reject and hate than by what they promote, affirm and revere. Their political commitments, personal identities and emotional lives appear to be structured more by opposition,