Modernity, secularism, development, and progress have long been viewed by the powerful few as benign ideals for the many. Today, however, botched experiments in nation-building, democracy, industrialization, and urbanization visibly scar much of the world. It was from among the ranks of the disaffected and the spiritually disorientated, that the militants of the nineteenth century arose. Many more people today, unable to fulfill the promises of a globalized economy, are increasingly susceptible to demagogues and their simplifications. A common reaction among them is intense hatred of supposed villains, the invention of enemies, attempts to recapture a lost golden age, unfocused fury and self-empowerment through spectacular violence. Here, Pankaj Mishra explores the origins of the great wave of paranoid hatreds that seem inescapable in this close-knit world, from American 'shooters' and ISIS to Trump, Modi, and racism and misogyny on social media.

How can we explain the origins of the great wave of paranoid hatreds that seem inescapable in our close-knit world -- from American shooters and ISIS to Donald Trump, from a rise in vengeful nationalism across the world to racism and misogyny on social media? In Age of Anger, Pankaj Mishra answers our bewilderment by casting his gaze back to the eighteenth century before leading us to the present. He shows that as the world became modern, those who were unable to enjoy its promises -- of freedom, stability and prosperity -- were increasingly susceptible to demagogues. The many who came late to this new world -- or were left, or pushed, behind -- reacted in horrifyingly similar ways: intense hatred of invented enemies, attempts to re-create an imaginary golden age, and self-empowerment through spectacular violence. It was from among the ranks of the disaffected that the militants of the 19th century arose -- angry young men who became cultural nationalists in Germany, messianic revoluti