Neoliberalism, New Age Spirituality, and the Just-world Fallacy
Where does the just-world fallacy come from?
The world is less terrifying if we believe that bad things only happen to people who deserve it, because that means we hold the power to keep ourselves safe and above water. Our brains tell us, there’s no need to worry because we would never put ourselves in the situations that lead to poverty, sickness, or abuse.
The belief that we can always influence the world in predictable ways creates a false yet comforting sense of safety. By the same token, it can also foster feelings of superiority. If we believe that misfortune is avoidable, then the people experiencing misfortune must have a poor sense of judgement, they must have done something wrong, or have some kind of flaw in their character. This is, of course, the root of victim-blaming.
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