Sociology in Denial: Praising Love, Ignoring Hate

Abstract

I argue that mainstream sociology has long denied the existence of hatred in society. Apart from Georg Simmel, the classics of sociology paid very little attention to hatred, even though, as recent developments in the sociology of emotions show, they paid considerable attention to emotions. The trend was continued with the spread of Parsonian sociology to Europe, Scandinavia and Asia after the Second World War. As the opening pages show, even today mainstream sociological discourses and surveys tend to skirt the matter. It is only on the margins, in research on discrimination and in gender, racism or post-colonial studies that we might find references to hatred, although even these seek legitimacy by analysing structures and institutions rather than hate discourses and hateful minds. This is in part due to the sociological heritage, also known as the cult of ancestors: a quick overview of well-known classical texts shows that Emile Durkheim implied or mentioned hatred when addressing revenge in simpler societies and hatred between the working and the capitalist classes in more complex, industrial societies. Max Weber underscored the role of fear and loyalty in sustaining the relations of domination. He also noticed Calvin’s hatred of all kinds of emotionality, especially one he attributed to Lutheranism. But it was Georg Simmel who defined hatred and related it to envy, jealousy, resentment and other emotions. In contrast to the intellectual trends of his time, he pinpointed positive effects of hatred, effects such as promoting individual and societal articulation, and, if regulated, advancing healthy competition and innovation.