is completing an MPhil in philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia. His research considers how equality and inequality are reflected in eve

The ‘masculinity crisis’ is actually a crisis of self-esteem

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2025-01-11 12:30:05

is completing an MPhil in philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia. His research considers how equality and inequality are reflected in everyday interactions between people.

The early 21st century is described as a time of crises. Liberal democracy, the US (or global) economy, the environment, masculinity, ageing populations, migration, misinformation and social media use are all supposedly in crisis – amounting to what some have called a global ‘polycrisis’. The reader will be forgiven for being sceptical, then, as I draw on the philosophical literature on recognition theory to introduce one more to the stage. This crisis explains some of the others, though – and gives an enlightening perspective on some of the tensions in our everyday lives.

There is a global crisis in self-esteem. It affects more or less everybody, but (as I’ll argue) it affects globalised, economically unequal societies the worst. The crisis is almost imperceptible because we’re living it every day, but that only adds to its seriousness. By self-esteem, I mean one’s self-estimation: whether one feels successful, or at least capable of success, by one’s own standards. To lack self-esteem is to feel impotent, even worthless. The crisis is that there is a widespread lack of self-esteem, and a universal competition for it.