When the Russian police broke up a peaceful demonstration and dragged protesting women through snow piles to paddy wagons in 2024, the women shouted at the cops, “Don’t you have any shame?”

This incident in Moscow was reminiscent of a rhetorical question asked during the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings. Sen. Joe McCarthy alleged the U.S. Army was rife with communists and other subversives. The Army’s Chief Council, Joseph Welch, challenged McCarthy to produce proof. McCarthy, who was noted for his unsubstantiated allegations that smeared innocent people, couldn’t back up his claims. Welch accused McCarthy of being cruel and reckless and then rhetorically asked McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

The Russian protesters and Joseph Welch used shaming to express their contempt. However, shaming, except perhaps for online shaming, largely has faded into disfavor. The dismissal of shaming as a legitimate expression of disapproval is two-pronged. The first is psychological: No one should be made to feel ashamed as it is experienced as a crushing blow to a person’s self-esteem. The second is philosophical: No behavior........

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