Grandstanding and Respect

This chapter presents several ways that moral grandstanding can involve a failure to show appropriate respect for persons. Grandstanders often use the putative moral failings of others as opportunities to showcase their own moral qualities. This phenomenon is common in cases of viral outrage and online shaming. Grandstanders also deceive other people by encouraging inaccurate impressions of their own moral credentials, thus gaining trust they do not deserve, and sometimes greater leeway to behave immorally. Grandstanding is also presented as a form of free-riding. If everyone engaged in grandstanding all the time, it would not impress anyone, and moral talk would not work. Grandstanders get the best of both worlds, while others restrain themselves to avoid abusing moral talk.