What Ressentiment Is and Why It Matters Ressentiment is Nietzsche’s term for the psychological poison that emerges when will to power cannot express itself directly and turns into permanent grievance and resentment. It is more than ordinary resentment. It is a sustained state of impotent rage that defines your entire psychology and worldview. When you are blocked from achieving what you want, when obstacles prevent you from expressing your power, when you cannot overcome through action, the energy does not disappear. It redirects inward where it festers into bitterness, envy, and the desire for revenge. But because you cannot take...