In an essay on human aggression published in 1947, Parsons observed that many men “will inevitably feel they have been unjustly treated, because there is in fact much injustice, much of which is very deeply rooted in the nature of the society, and because many are disposed to be paranoid and see more injustice than actually exists.” And he went further. The feeling of being “unjustly treated,” Parsons noted, is “not only a balm to one’s sense of resentment, it is an alibi for failure.”
