Abstract
This article examines the role of political anger in democracy. It reviews the work of Stéphane Hessel before examining the role and reception of anger in classical and modern thought. The author identifies two main traditions within which the concept of political anger can be located: revolutionary violence of the Marxist tradition and the peaceful, nonviolent tradition of civil disobedience initiated by Gandhi. The culture of anger going back to the ancients is examined, followed by a review of the ‘angry young men’ culture of a group of authors around John Osborne and his famous play Look Back in Anger. The author insists that the culture of political anger is an essential set of readings, techniques and skills that are indispensable in the neoliberal age.