Diffuse white and dialogic obstruction: anger in the face of structural injustice

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.100.042

Keywords:

Martha Nussbaum, Oppression, Guillermo Lariguet, Unjust Democracies, Anger

Abstract

It appears that anger does not have good press, as it would lead to irrational outbursts and violence, to an individualistic quest for revenge and to harming the angry person himself. Guillermo Lariguet has recently challenged this image, by claiming that anger should have a more ample role in liberal democracies, since that emotion is needed to motivate oppressed groups to reform unjust structures and situations.

In this comment, we challenge Lariguet’s claims, arguing that the very conditions of oppression significantly hinder the virtuous manifestation of anger in imperfect democracies such as ours and that his distinction between cases of anger and cases of hate –key to Lariguet’s defense of anger– is deeply unstable.

Author Biographies

Facundo García Valverde, CONICET (Argentina)

He holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Buenos Aires, where he also teaches. He is an Adjunct Researcher at CONICET (Argentina). He has published numerous articles in Dianoia, Revista de Filosofía, Basic Income Studies, Contrastes, and Revue de Ethique et Economie, as well as chapters in various anthologies on practical philosophy. He has conducted research at the University of Michigan and Paris Lodron University of Salzburg. His philosophical interests include the capabilities approach, non-cognitive conceptions of trust, and the normative analysis of social protection policies.

Juan Cruz Feijóo, CONICET (Argentina)

Professor of Philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires (both secondary and higher education) and lecturer at the same university. He also teaches Philosophy at the secondary level. He is a member of the Network of Researchers on Egalitarianism (RISI).

References

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LARIGUET, Guillermo, El odio y la ira. Furias desatadas en la democracia actual. Rosario: Prohistoria, 2023.

LARIGUET, Guillermo. “Hatred and Anger: A Conceptual Analysis and Practical Effects. A tribute to Jonathan Haidt”. Revista de Humanidades de Valparaíso. 2022, nº 19.

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NUSSBAUM, Martha. La ira y el perdón. Resentimiento, generosidad, justicia. México D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2018.

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Published

2026-05-28

How to Cite

García Valverde, F., & Feijóo, J. C. (2026). Diffuse white and dialogic obstruction: anger in the face of structural injustice. República Y Derecho, 11(11), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.100.042

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 11 (2026): Dossier: Reflections on Hatred and Anger: Unleashed Furies in Today's Democracy, by Guillermo Lariguet

Section

Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2026 Facundo García Valverde, Juan Cruz Feijóo

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