Compassion's More Dangerous Allies: Fear, Anxiety, and Amour-Propre

Abstract

What kind of moral and sentimental education should we pursue under non-ideal circumstances? In states characterized by high inequality and imperfect political institutions, scholars have increasingly turned their attention to the ethics of care and the politics of compassion. In response, critics have raised concerns that compassion is too weak to serve politically salutary goals. Drawing on the moral and political psychology of Emile, this article shows that Rousseau relied on fear, anxiety, and amour-propre to extend compassion across class lines. Rousseau's account suggests that the proper development of compassion cannot do without these more 'dangerous' allies, at least not in societies characterized by socioeconomic inequality. In addition to its contribution to Rousseau scholarship, the article adds to the contemporary literature on moral sentiments by highlighting three psychologically plausible and previously unacknowledged strategies for extending compassion: fear of downward social mobility, religious anxiety, and pride.