The Predicament of Privilege: Inequality and Ambivalence in Contemporary Scandinavian Culture

Is privilege a problem? Scandinavians ask, Is this okay?--and wrestle with the answer

A twenty-first century paradox has emerged in contemporary Scandinavian societies: the region’s deeply ingrained egalitarian ideals exist uneasily alongside its undeniable global privilege. In The Predicament of Privilege, Devika Sharma examines this tension, exploring how a well-intentioned desire to ＂do good＂ collides with an unsettling realization: the very structures that enable ethical consumption, charitable donations, and humanitarian action are themselves embedded in a system of exploitation.

Through an incisive analysis of contemporary Scandinavian cultural texts, The Predicament of Privilege introduces the concept of skeptimentality--a pervasive moral ambivalence about virtuous emotions like compassion and generosity. As Sharma demonstrates, this sentiment does not necessarily lead to action but creates a vacuum, leaving privilege-sensitive publics with a crisis of conscience but no clear path forward. Sharma’s book challenges both the self-image of Nordic societies and the broader assumptions of humanitarian ethics. A necessary read for scholars, cultural critics, and anyone engaging with the politics of privilege, this book offers a bold new perspective on the unfinished business of equality.

Devika Sharma is associate professor of modern culture at the University of Copenhagen. She is author of Amerikanske fængselsbilleder: Kunst, kultur og indespærring i samtidens USA, coeditor of Structures of Feeling: Affectivity and the Study of Culture, and editor of the Nordic journal K&K.