The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

and the equalitarian doctrine of democracy and
socialism, have greatly extended the range of envy.
For the moment this is an evil, but it is an evil
which must be endured in order to arrive at a more
just social system. As soon as inequalities are
thought about rationally they are seen to be unjust
unless they rest upon some superiority of merit.
And as soon as they are seen to be unjust, there is
no remedy for the resulting envy except the
removal of the injustice. Our age is therefore one
in which envy plays a peculiarly large part. The
poor envy the rich, the poorer nations envy the
richer nations, women envy men, virtuous women
envy those who, though not virtuous, remain
unpunished. While it is true that envy is the chief
motive force leading to justice as between
different classes, different nations, and different
sexes, it is at the same time true that the kind of
justice to be expected as a result of envy is likely
to be the worst possible kind, namely that which
consists rather in diminishing the pleasures of the
fortunate than in increasing those of the unfortunate.
Passions which work havoc in private life work