Evil Eyes and Tall Poppies: Envy, Schadenfreude, and Social Comparison

Here’s an astonishing quote from Julius Caesar, one of history’s most renowned leaders:

'Do you think,' said he, 'I have not just cause to weep, when I consider that Alexander at my age had conquered so many nations, and I have all this time done nothing that is memorable? '”

Caesar lamented the fact that despite his immense accomplishments, he felt diminished when he compared himself to this earlier historical leader.

Interestingly, Caesar himself was a victim of this kind of social comparison, at least in the Shakespearean version of the story, which is based on the historian Plutarch’s account.

Caesar had a friend named Cassius, who was a Roman senator. Cassius told another senator named Brutus a story from his childhood. The story was that when they were young boys, Cassius saved Caesar from drowning.

Ever since then, Cassius felt superior to Caesar. However, Caesar had recently become the leader of Rome and became widely beloved by the masses. Cassius envied him for this. This motivated Cassius to set in motion the events that eventually led to Caesar’s assassination in the Roman senate.

A 2021 study found that malicious envy was by far the strongest predictor of coercive economic redistribution. It was a stronger predictor than self-interest, or fairness, or communal harm (the belief that it is okay to inflict costs on a smaller number of individuals to benefit a larger number).

Often you’ll find that the most vehement proponents of economic redistribution are individuals who themselves are well off in an absolute sense. Perhaps in the top quintile or top decile of the income distribution. But many of these people dislike those in the top one percent.

Comparisons are not good for the soul.
There’s always someone bigger than you, and always someone smaller than you.
Don’t compare yourself to others. Be yourself.

2 posted on 09/03/2023 4:46:24 AM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)

"communal harm (the belief that it is okay to inflict costs on a smaller number of individuals to benefit a larger number)"

I believe that should read, "the belief that it is okay to inflict injustice on a smaller number of individuals to benefit a larger number

3 posted on 09/03/2023 4:47:49 AM PDT by equaviator (If 60 is the new 40 then 35 must be the new 15.)

Malicious Envy is the Foundation of Marxism.

4 posted on 09/03/2023 7:08:51 AM PDT by left that other site (Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.)

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