The Use and Satisfaction of Blame

The choice to live our lives fully and meaningfully comes with responsibility, which can sometimes be terrifying. Blame can be a way of denying responsibility and can therefore be a significant impediment to change. The author Erica Jong wrote bitingly about this:

"No one to blame!... That was why most people led lives they hated, with people they hated… How wonderful to have someone to blame! How wonderful to live with one’s nemesis! You may be miserable, but you feel forever in the right. You may be fragmented, but you feel absolved of all the blame for it. Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame."