Powerlessness Fuels Denial, Which Undermines the Solidarity Needed to Overcome Powerlessness
Source: Peter Dorman. "The Political Economy of Cognitive Dissonance." October 19, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
When people feel they can't do anything about a problem, hearing bad news about it just hurts, so they're tempted to tune it out or deny it. That denial makes them less likely to join others in fighting the problem, which keeps them powerless. The author says this explains why some workers deny workplace dangers and why climate action stalls, and that rebuilding a sense of collective power is the way out.
Conclusion
Feelings of powerlessness make people more likely to deny uncomfortable information about problems such as workplace hazards and climate change. That denial weakens the collective action that could change those conditions, so building a sense of collective power is essential to breaking the loop.
Premises
- Holding conflicting ideas causes psychological discomfort (cognitive dissonance), and a common way to avoid it is denial: ignoring or disbelieving information that would generate mental conflict.
- Uncomfortable information has two effects: the discomfort of dissonance, and a usefulness value that comes from helping people act effectively on a problem.
- Usefulness value only materializes if people believe they have the power to act on the information. Powerless people get the pain without the gain, so denial becomes more likely for them.
- Silkwood illustrates this: Karen Silkwood grew more open to hard truths about radiation as she gained union-based leverage, while economically vulnerable coworkers who feared plant closure denied the evidence and sided with the employer.
- The same dynamic plausibly contributes to the muted political response to climate change. Despite alarming scientific news, decades of political failure have left many feeling abjectly powerless, so they tune out distressing news.
- This produces a self-reinforcing loop: discouragement from past failure leads to less attention to the problem, which makes continued political failure more likely.
Assumptions
- Cognitive dissonance theory and its denial mechanism generalize from individuals to mass political behavior.
- A film dramatization of workers' attitudes is a reasonable illustration of real-world psychological dynamics.
- Perceived powerlessness, rather than other factors such as economic interests, ideology, or competing priorities, is a substantial causal contributor to denial and political inaction.
- Perceptions of power can be changed through organizing and solidarity, and doing so would reduce denial.
- Low public concern about climate change reflects denial or avoidance rather than considered prioritization of other issues.
- Workers' resistance to safety information is driven by psychological dissonance, not just rational weighing of job-loss risks.