: While the West "industrialized" certain evils, Bruckner points out it also invented the tools to abolish them, such as civil liberties and democratic government.
: Bruckner acknowledges Western crimes like slavery and colonialism but argues that constant self-flagellation has become a "secular version of original sin".
– Discusses the complexities of the Near East and Zionism.
– Analyzes the feeling of an unpayable moral debt to the rest of the world.
– Focuses on France as a caricature of broader European "moral decay".
: He describes a "masochistic" culture where intellectuals and leaders use guilt to claim moral superiority, effectively "inflating" themselves through remorse.
– Examines those who profit from perpetual remorse.
The essay is divided into eight primary sections as outlined on Princeton University Press and Project MUSE :
