📖Responsibility Without Guilt: The Moral Burden of a Political Community Observing how easily representatives of regimes- and not only they- manipulate the notions of collective guilt and collective responsibility, one begins to wonder: what’s the difference between them, 1/20

and are they possible at all? And can there be collective responsibility without guilt? The German philosopher Karl Jaspers noted that the idea of collective guilt turns a nation into an individualized and therefore unified whole.👇 2/20

However, an entire people, or all individuals within a nation, cannot equally be criminals- a moral or immoral act can only be committed by a particular person. Where everyone is guilty, no one is guilty. In the courtroom, this becomes perfectly clear: the defendant can’t 👇 3/20

be a “system,” the “law of history,” or a “force of nature.” In the courtroom, guilt always has a face and a body, and a sentence- having established the crime- always carries punishment. Only individual guilt makes sense from both a legal and moral point of view.👇 4/20

Accusing a group deprives us of all this clarity and leaves us with no meaningful relation to what was done. If we recognize that collective guilt doesn’t exist, does the concept of collective responsibility still make sense? It does- if we look at responsibility not from.👇 5/20

a legal perspective, where we clearly understand that there can be no responsibility without guilt. So, what is collective responsibility? A political community, like a state, is built on continuity- confirmed by our willingness to take responsibility for what was done👇 6/20

before us. At the same time, by taking responsibility for what happens around us, we create and affirm our connection with our fellow citizens. Of course, responsibility is also collective or political in the sense that it can be imposed on one state by another,👇 7/20

for instance through sanctions. This indicates that even those who did not commit crimes bear responsibility for what is done in their name. And that is precisely responsibility without guilt- because anyone can take responsibility, even if they are personally innocent👇 8/20

in a given situation, even if they did not elect the warring government, do not support it, and do not feel represented by it. Resistance to evil- for example, to crimes against humanity committed by one’s fellow citizens- does not arise from a sense of guilt but from a 👇 9/20

radical refusal to live in a world where such things happen. Responsibility requires awareness- a sense that you are the master of your own life and decisions. Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, on the other hand, seek to make people hostages of circumstances, power,👇 10/20

and history- to deprive them of all control. Yet even in such cases, the concept of collective responsibility retains meaning. Just as it makes sense for many people to be proud of their homeland, even if they haven’t directly contributed to its achievements, it’s equally👇 11/20

necessary to reflect on one’s attitude toward the shameful deeds committed in the name of that homeland. Collective responsibility arises from belonging to a political community- from being part of it in the present moment, from observing what is being done in its name, and 12/20

from failing to notice what is happening. Likewise, no collective responsibility is possible without political responsibility at the state level- in the form of public apologies made on behalf of the state, reparations, and, of course, punishment of those truly guilty.👇 13/20

Yet it does make sense to speak of the collective responsibility of citizens, and of what it would mean for a people to accept such responsibility. Some say they feel very ashamed- but, unfortunately, shame for one’s government or for the people who make decisions is not👇 14/20

enough. That is merely a form of collective shame, a kind of helplessness- when you feel you can do nothing, yet your identity ties you to your circumstances. Simply feeling bad and doing nothing is not an option; indeed, it may be the easiest choice for those who do not👇 15/20

wish to engage with uncomfortable truths. The question of collective responsibility is, above all, one of reflection, rethinking, and reevaluation of one’s place within the system, the situation, and the circumstances- a matter of acknowledgment and recognition.👇 16/20

Recognition of what the state and its representatives have done in the name of the people, recognition of how, to what extent, when, and where you yourself participated, remained silent, approved, or once again- stayed silent.👇 17/20