ABSTRACT
The clearest evidence of the victim culture in which we now live is the preoccupation with litigation. For many years now, it has not been possible to turn on a commercial television channel in the daytime without being encouraged to find someone to blame for any mishap you might have had, and to sue them. A kind of vicious circle develops where the culture of blame and litigation is fed by, and contributes to, proliferation of rules, regulations, and legislation designed to control the dangers and problems. A triumphant state of mind involves a disconnected and self-congratulatory attitude, and when this comes about through indulging or contriving the status of the victim, it combines deviousness with arrogance. Just as Oedipal development is central to the problem of having to be the centre of attention, so it is also the key to defensiveness and self-justification.
