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O. Abel’s book De l’humiliation. Le nouveau poison de nos sociétés [On humiliation: the new poison of our societies] draws attention to the problems raised by a new form of “institutional” formation. When the rationalisation of institutions through procedures and technology ends up making them impersonal and inhuman, they become humiliating for many individuals to the point of turning them against themselves. It is therefore urgent that we understand the causes of this new kind of humiliation and determine how, ethically and in the final analysis, we should respond to it.