Depersonalization of responsibility

Contextual excuses for inertia
Creative self-victimization
Shifting of blame
Sophisticated assumptions of innocence
Avoidance of personal responsibility
Victim culture
Cultivation of victimhood
Compensation neurosis

Nature

The complexity and magnitude of world problems can appear overwhelming and beyond the capability of any one person or collection of people to change. Unable to face the confusion of chaos or impotence, people can retreat behind fatalistic or intellectual arguments, such as: "The government should take the responsibility", or "What's the point, it's out of control anyway", or "I'm powerless to do anything".

Background

The phenomenon of depersonalization of responsibility gained prominence in the mid-20th century, notably following studies of bureaucratic systems and landmark events such as the Nuremberg Trials. Scholars and observers began to recognize how complex organizations and hierarchical structures could diffuse individual accountability, enabling harmful actions to occur with minimal personal ownership. Subsequent global incidents, including corporate scandals and environmental disasters, further highlighted the pervasive and persistent nature of this problem across diverse sectors and cultures.

Incidence

Depersonalization of responsibility is a pervasive issue affecting institutions, corporations, and governments worldwide, often manifesting in large-scale decision-making processes where accountability becomes diffused among groups or hierarchies. This phenomenon has been observed in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and public administration, contributing to systemic failures and public mistrust. Its global significance is underscored by recurring scandals and crises where individuals or entities evade personal accountability for harmful outcomes.
In 2021, the Facebook Files investigation revealed how decision-makers at Meta Platforms Inc. repeatedly failed to address known harms caused by their products, citing complex organizational structures as justification for inaction. This highlighted the ongoing challenge of depersonalized responsibility in major technology firms.

Claim

People increasingly develop, and cultivate, the inability to accept reasonable responsibility for the products or services they choose to acquire and any actions relating to them. Resentment of pain and loss following from irresponsibility is then also cultivated. Good fortune is assumed to be a right and there is the expectation that the individual will be compensated for any burden, no matter how it was incurred or suffered.

The rhetoric of victimhood is to be found: in ultra-radical feminism through which sexual intercourse is reframed as rape; in campus speech codes that constrain free expression to reflect supposed sensitivity of minorities; and in the widespread indulgence in claims of child abuse.

Since no one can legitimately claim not to have suffered some psychological trauma, it becomes harder and harder to hold anyone responsible for anything.

Counter-claim

In certain cultures it is acceptable, even expected, that the individual sublimate themselves to their life circumstances, status and society. Criticism may be condoned, but independent action is not, and often viewed as antisocial.