Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour - Helmut Schoeck

This classic study is one of the few books to explore extensively the many facets of envy--a drive which lies at the core of man's life as a social being. Ranging widely over literature, philosophy, psychology, and the social sciences, Professor Schoeck-- a distinguished sociologist and anthropologist--elucidates both the constructive and destructive consequences of envy in social life. Perhaps most important, he demonstrates that not only the impetus toward a totalitarian regime but also the egalitarian impulse in democratic societies are alike in being rooted in envy.