Schoeck_2010_EnvyATheoryOfSocialBehaviour.pdf

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The Psychology of Envy
OBSERVATIONS DRAWN FROM a wide variety of simple tribal cultures
show conclusively, then, that envy, and especially fear of being
envied and hence 'bewitched,' is independent of the size of the object
and of its qualities. Frequently, mere trifles are involved. However, it
may be objected, and justifiably so, that these are trifles only in our own
view and that, to the man in the primitive society, they represent real
values which one person has and the other has not. This is true up to a
point. But again, there are other clear instances of acute envy being
focused on assets other than those of the material values of a particular
village or tribe. To this can be added our observations of the stimuli that
induce envy in modern, developed, industrial communities. And these,
too, support the hypothesis that envy is not directly proportional to the
absolute value of what is coveted, but very often concentrates upon
absurd trifles to such a degree that, in some situations, the best means of
protection against the envy of neighbour, colleague or voter is to drive,
say, a Rolls-Royce instead of a car only slightly better than his, or, if
Brighton is his resort, to choose a world cruise rather than a holiday in
Sicily. In other words, overwhelming and astounding inequality, especially
when it has an element of the unattainable, arouses far less envy
than minimal inequality, which inevitably causes the envious man to
think: 'I might almost be in his place. '
Child psychology, drawing on the experience of sibling jealousy, may
help to explain why envy concerns itself with small differences rather
than with really big ones. In so far as the propensity for envy is chiefly
acquired through experiencing and suffering sibling jealousy, what is
involved is almost a conditioned reflex naturally oriented towards stimuli
of low threshold values. Within a family or sibling group the coveted
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