The Origins of Envy

The American Magazine  h/t transterrestrial.com

This is so good that I had to quote it:

Envy, after all, is a deadly sin to many. Aquinas said, "Envy according to the aspect of its object is contrary to charity, whence the soul derives its spiritual life... Charity rejoices in our neighbor's good, while envy grieves over it." [emphasis mine]

Comment:

But this article goes further than morality and says that envy is built-in.  It makes us who we are, which is not exactly comforting at the moment.  We are egalitarian by design, but this is in conflict with modern civilization.  It was necessary because:

For Paleolithic Man, this was not just some errant feeling. It provided the basis for survival logic in a mostly zero-sum world. That logic worked for a time and place in which survival depended on sharing and close cooperation.

And for a world that is no longer zero-sum, isn't the emotion of envy a bit out of step?

Another fascinating story is this:

One classic experiment is the Ultimatum Game, variations of which Wilson runs on college kids using beer money. This simple experiment involves only two participants, the Proposer and the Responder, who are chosen at random. The “game” mechanics are simple. The Proposer gets a certain amount of money, say $10. He or she can offer the Responder as much of it as she likes. If the Responder accepts the offer, then the Proposer has benefitted by whatever’s left over. If the Responder rejects the offer, both get zero. 

It is fascinating because people will accept an outcome with both getting nothing, as opposed to both getting something, provided that there is a bit of unfairness in that latter outcome.  To me, fairness is irrelevant.  The fact that people would accept an outcome with both suffering, as opposed to both benefiting- seems insane.  But that appears to be how we are built.

Here's another quote that caught my attention:

I realize this may not sit well with those who have apotheosized the Stone Age Trinity. But as Steven Pinker points out in The Blank Slate, “the real alternative to romantic collectivism is not “right-wing libertarianism” but a recognition that social generosity comes from a complex suite of thoughts and emotions rooted in the logic of reciprocity.”

Reciprocity is one of those knee jerk type reactions that are built-in.  That according to another study that I read years ago.  It is "knee jerk" because it is involuntary, like the tap the knee reflex you might observe in the doctor's office.

Conclusion:

1. First, the rules, mores, and dispositions ideal for living in civilizations could be very different from the rules, mores, and dispositions for surviving in Paleolithic clans.
2. our species has not had time to evolve all the dispositions that might have made us better suited to civilization.
3. We can start to look at wealth disparities not so much through the lens of guilt, envy, or indignation, but through the lens of function, form, and fair play. When we do, ethical systems designed to redirect some of our baser instincts will emerge. 
4. Envy can creep into both our politics and our personal lives. So also can envy’s sister emotions, guilt and indignation. All three are facets of a brain that was sculpted by millennia in a mostly zero-sum environment. But now we can live in a positive-sum world.