Sociologist Christian von Scheve explains why shame is more than an individual discomfort: it acts as an invisible glue of social order – but also as a political instrument of control. “No society can exist without social norms, and no social norm can exist without sanctions. Shame and shaming are among the most effective of these sanctions,” he notes.

Von Scheve shows how boundaries of shame shift with social change, how public shaming can become a tool of power, and how shame might also serve as a source of empathy and solidarity.