What does this research mean for the field?

Comparative relations actively constitute the sense of entitlement through which unequal outcomes are experienced as unfair, driving a mechanism of comparative entitlement formation that links proximate comparison to grievance and the scapegoating of vulnerable third parties. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how proximate social comparison generates felt entitlements and directs distributive grievance into the violent scapegoating of vulnerable third parties.

August 29, 2026Philosophy & Social Criticism

Comparative Desire and Social Violence: Mimetic Structure, Inequity, and the Scapegoat Dynamic

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To examine how proximate social comparison generates felt entitlements and directs distributive grievance into the violent scapegoating of vulnerable third parties.
Integrated René Girard's theory of mimetic desire, Leon Festinger's social comparison framework, and Axel Honneth's recognition theory.
Synthesized empirical findings on inequity aversion from behavioral economics and comparative psychology to construct a unified conceptual model.
Established the mechanism of comparative entitlement formation, demonstrating that feelings of unfairness peak under conditions of social proximity and similarity rather than through abstract rational calculation.
Identified scapegoating as an institutional cost where frustrated entitlements are displaced onto vulnerable parties outside initial distributive justifications.

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Implication

Theoretical analysis uncovers mechanisms linking proximate social comparison to grievance and scapegoating in unequal groups, highlighting second-order costs of institutional distribution.

Cite This Study

Åke Elden (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9299db8e5d7d1fc0c120bc https://doi.org/10.1177/01914537261481740

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Implication

Theoretical analysis uncovers mechanisms linking proximate social comparison to grievance and scapegoating in unequal groups, highlighting second-order costs of institutional distribution.

Comparative Desire and Social Violence: Mimetic Structure, Inequity, and the Scapegoat Dynamic

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Comparative Desire and Social Violence: Mimetic Structure, Inequity, and the Scapegoat Dynamic

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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