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Envy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2023

Ute Frevert
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung, Berlin
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Summary

Anyone who calls for higher taxes on wealth and criticizes excessive manager bonuses is often accused of speaking out of envy. Envy, in this very context, is considered an expression of greed, indulgence and jealousy towards top performers whose successes are revealed to be morally questionable. This chapter unearths how envy has been a motive behind many political campaigns, without it actually being described as such. Antisemites blamed ‘the Jews’ for everything bad and had no qualms about taking their possessions during the Nazi period. Social envy also existed in the ‘classless society’ of the GDR, and with the dramatic increase in the inequality of the distribution of income and wealth since the 1990s, it is an important issue in the united Germany: Many people are questioning the fairness of society and the economy; others simply dismiss this as envy.

Keywords

Type
Chapter
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The Power of Emotions
A History of Germany from 1900 to the Present
, pp. 104 - 122
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Envy
  • Ute Frevert, Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung, Berlin
  • Book: The Power of Emotions
  • Online publication: 14 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009376792.007
Available formats
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  • Envy
  • Ute Frevert, Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung, Berlin
  • Book: The Power of Emotions
  • Online publication: 14 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009376792.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Envy
  • Ute Frevert, Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung, Berlin
  • Book: The Power of Emotions
  • Online publication: 14 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009376792.007
Available formats
×