Scholar Links Modern Political Rage to Enlightenment Legacy

The gap between Enlightenment aspirations and their unequal application has created enduring resentment that shapes modern politics, according to analysis by prominent intellectual historian Pankaj Mishra. His examination suggests that the Western promise of freedom and progress, extended selectively through colonial and imperial projects, left populations with unfulfilled expectations and deep-seated grievances.

Mishra's analysis connects historical imperial expansion to contemporary political movements characterized by anger and disillusionment. The scholar contends that societies worldwide absorbed ideals of universal liberty and self-determination, only to find these principles applied inconsistently or denied entirely by the same powers promoting them.

This historical disconnect has generated lasting consequences for global politics. Mishra's work suggests that much of today's political turbulence—from populist movements to nationalist sentiments—reflects a reckoning with broken promises embedded in the Western order itself. The resentment stems not from rejection of Enlightenment values, but from their selective and hierarchical implementation.

The analysis offers a framework for understanding contemporary political divisions as rooted in structural contradictions that emerged centuries ago. Rather than viewing current anger as purely reactionary or irrational, Mishra's historical perspective suggests it represents a confrontation with unfulfilled universalist claims central to the modern era.