Rationalization against Victims of Western Colonialism and Imperialism

The use of historical counterfactuals, geopolitical realism, or cultural relativism to explain away imperial violence as a product of its time, an unavoidable human tendency, or a practice no worse than “what local empires did.” It seeks to normalize and de-exceptionalize the violence.

Rationalization against Victims of Western Colonialism and Imperialism Example: “Every great civilization has expanded. The Europeans were just better at it. It’s naive to judge them by today’s standards.” This rationalization removes specific moral responsibility by appealing to historical fatalism and a myth of neutral civilizational competition.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Rationalization against Victims of Liberalism

The process of explaining away liberal society’s failures (deep inequality, democratic erosion) as results of insufficient liberalism (“not enough free markets,” “not enough democracy”), or as aberrations caused by external illiberal forces. The system’s logic is never wrong, only imperfectly applied.

Rationalization against Victims of Liberalism Example: “Our politics aren’t corrupt because of lobbying and dark money; it’s because we don’t have true campaign finance liberalism. More transparency and more speech will fix it.” This rationalization treats the systemic flaws as accidental, preserving faith in the original ideology by blaming its imperfect implementation.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Rationalization against Victims of Neoliberalism

Explaining neoliberal harms through a lens of technocratic inevitability and complex global dynamics. It uses the language of “there is no alternative” (TINA), “global realities,” and “market confidence” to make social devastation seem like the result of impersonal, expert-managed forces, not political ideology.

Rationalization against Victims of Neoliberalism Example: A news analyst explaining pension cuts: “With an aging population and global bond yields under pressure, reforms were mathematically unavoidable to avoid a sovereign debt crisis.” This rationalization replaces ideology with a narrative of mathematical and economic destiny, removing human agency and choice from the equation.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Rationalization against Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism

The cognitive process of explaining the system's deepening failures through a lens of hyper-complexity and inevitability, using concepts like "digital disruption," "the Fourth Industrial Revolution," or "market logic 2.0." It rationalizes surreal outcomes—like billionaires funding space tourism while homelessness surges—as natural results of unstoppable technological and economic forces, not political choices. The suffering is framed as an unfortunate byproduct of a transition too complex to steer.

Rationalization against Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism Example: An economist stating, "While wealth concentration appears extreme, it reflects the supernormal returns of intangible assets and network effects in a digital era. Redistributive policies might inadvertently stifle the innovation driving this new paradigm." This rationalization uses jargon ("intangible assets," "network effects") to portray a political choice—tolerating extreme inequality—as a sophisticated understanding of an inevitable new economic law.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Rationalization against Victims of Anti-communism

The cognitive process of explaining away the human cost of anti-communist campaigns by appealing to the geopolitical anxieties, ideological fervor, or "complexities" of the Cold War (or its modern equivalents). It treats state violence as an understandable, if regrettable, overreaction to a perceived existential threat, removing active moral responsibility by citing the pressures of the era or the provocations of the targeted groups.

Rationalization against Victims of Anti-communism Example: A historian arguing, "While the Vietnam War led to immense civilian casualties, it must be understood within the context of the U.S. policy of containment, which was a rational response to monolithic communist expansion as perceived at the time." This rationalization does not celebrate the harm but drains it of its human horror, transforming burned villages and massacres into abstract outcomes of a "rational" strategic doctrine.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Rationalization against Victims of Anti-communism

The cognitive process of explaining away the suffering caused by anti-communist purges, wars, and repression by embedding it within a broader, sanitized narrative of global conflict or historical inevitability. It uses concepts like "containment policy," "domino theory," or the binary of "the Free World vs. Totalitarianism" to create a framework where specific acts of violence lose their moral weight and become logical moves on a geopolitical chessboard.

Rationalization against Victims of Anti-communism Example: A historian arguing, "While the Vietnam War led to immense civilian casualties, it must be understood within the context of the U.S. policy of containment, which was a rational response to monolithic communist expansion as perceived at the time." This rationalization does not celebrate the harm but drains it of its human horror, transforming burned villages and massacres into abstract outcomes of a "rational" strategic doctrine.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026