The Age of Guilt: The Super-Ego in the Online World

Edmundson (Song of Ourselves), a University of Virginia English professor, delivers an uneven take on the superego. Drawing on Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents—which argues that as societies advance and become less tolerant of aggression, the superego, a “fiercely oppressive” internal force of “judgment and prohibition,” becomes “more bottled up”— Edmundson considers the superego’s role in contemporary society. On the internet, “self-righteous moralism,” especially among the educated and liberal, channel unreleased aggression into revenge-seeking Twitter mobs; while some “members of the white working class” rebel against contemptuous, super-ego driven judgments of liberal society by voting for political candidates that the left hates, even when doing so undermines their own interests. Even some modern attempts to determine one’s identity through rigid classifications, writes Edmundson, rely on superego-motivated desires for “conformity and regimented virtue.” Edmundson’s solution—“One does not change the super-ego. One transcends it” by living according to ideals and being compassionate—is not especially actionable, a frequent feature of a book that often feels half-baked. There are some thought-provoking turns, but Edmundson too often forsakes nuance, leading to an overly broad argument that fails to convince. Though his goals are admirable, Edmundson mostly fails to meet them. (Apr.)