The Monarchy of Fear: A Philosopher Looks at Our Political Crisis

by Martha C. Nussbaum

This wish for payback arises in all sorts of situations. Take divorce. Betrayed spouses often feel entitled to seek punitive divorce settlements and child custody arrangements, as if that somehow were their due, and as if punitive payback somehow restored the balance of power or rescued their damaged dignity. But in real life the function of payback is usually far less benign. Two people become locked in a struggle for pain, focused on the past, and often inflicting great collateral damage on children, friends, and family. In the end, the betrayer may get “his comeuppance,” but what does that achieve? Typically, it does not improve the litigant’s life going forward. By focusing obsessively on the past, she becomes closed to new possibilities, and she often becomes bitter and unpleasant. What the payback seeker wants is future happiness and self-respect. Payback by itself never achieves that, and it usually makes the world a lot worse for all.