Schoeck_2010_EnvyATheoryOfSocialBehaviour.pdf

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The Envy-barrier of the
Developing Countries
THE FUTURE, the only field where the fruits of any development are to
be reaped, lends itself to a co-operative approach, to exploitation by
men able to exchange and co-ordinate their ideas, knowledge and desires.
But this is conceivable only when fear of the other's envy, of his
possible sabotage or malicious sorcery, has to some extent been overcome.
No one can even begin to have rational aspirations for the future
unless he has a realistic view of what that future may be; but no such
prognosis can be made so long as each member of the group carefully
keeps hidden his view of the future. Nor can a view that is conducive to
social and economic development be formed within a group until its
individual members are able, in frank discussion, to compare, weigh and
synchronize all their different pictures of the future. It is precisely this,
however, which more than anything else is impeded by the ever-present
fear that basically everyone, more especially our near neighbour, is
potentially envious and that the best defence against him is to pretend
complete indifference about the future.
A ruthless, charismatic leader may, in certain circumstances, force his
own view of the future on others, over a short space of time and when
threatened by danger from without (although there have been cases
where even the most obvious danger was not enough to overcome the
inhibition of communal action by envy). Since the leader cannot do
everything himself, however, the undertaking suffers in its execution
precisely from mutual suspicions among his followers.
Institutionalized envy
An expert on South American peasant cultures and village communities,
Eric Wolf, singled out the phenomenon mentioned above. He
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