Defeatism

Defeatism is the acceptance of defeat without struggle, often with negative connotations. It can be linked to pessimism in psychology.^[1]

History

The term is commonly used in politics, and especially in the context of war to denote treason: a soldier can be a defeatist if they refuse to fight because they think that the fight will be lost for sure or that it is not worth fighting for some other reason. Again in connection with war, the term is used to refer to the view that defeat would be better than victory. The term can also be used in other fields, like politics, sport, psychology and philosophy.

During World War II, Adolf Hitler unexpectedly dismissed many generals for defeatism. During the last year of war, the German people's court executed many people accused of defeatist talks or acts and their names were announced weekly in a pink colored poster pasted on billboards around the country.^[2]

See also

• Fatalism
• Psychology

Notes

Emotions (list)
Emotions	Adoration Affection Agitation Agony Amusement Anger Anguish Annoyance Anxiety Apathy Arousal Attraction Awe Boredom Calmness Compassion Contempt Contentment Defeat Depression Desire Disappointment Disgust Ecstasy Embarrassment Empathy Enthrallment Enthusiasm Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Gratitude Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Homesickness Hope Horror Hostility Humiliation Hysteria Infatuation Insecurity Insult Interest Irritation Isolation Jealousy Joy Loneliness Longing Love Lust Melancholy Mono no aware Neglect Nostalgia Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride hubris Rage Regret Rejection Remorse Resentment Sadness Saudade Schadenfreude Sehnsucht Sentimentality Shame Shock Sorrow Spite Stress Suffering Surprise Sympathy Tenseness Wonder Worry
World views	Nihilism Optimism Pessimism Reclusion Weltschmerz