Everyday, I travel to work by bus. I am bombarded by marketing images that I rarely take notice off. One that did stand out recently, however, was an election poster for the United Kingdom Independence Party. (UKIP)
The image was cut in half.On the left hand side, was photograph of exhausted workers travelling by bus to or from work. On the right hand side, was a suited and booted bureaucrat. Under the image was how much money is spent in Europe every year.
The poster is designed to appeal to workers who feel disappointment and perhaps anger with their lot in life. But instead of questioning the roots causes of this, the poster creates a scape goat in the form of the suited man.
A politics of resentment does not question structural injustice. Rather, it is designed to gather disgruntled voters to a party that has created an enemy of a very select group. It is a shallow kind of politics.
The politics of resentment is a waste of energy that will change very little in a positive way.
Gadfly Politics 