Envy In Politics

How envy, spite, and the pursuit of admiration influence politics Why do governments underspend on policies that would make their constituents better off? Why do people participate in contentious politics when they could reap benefits if they were to abstain? In Envy in Politics, Gwyneth McClendon contends that if we want to understand these and other forms of puzzling political behavior, we should pay attention to envy, spite, and the pursuit of admiration--all manifestations of our desire to maintain or enhance our status within groups. Drawing together insights from political philosophy, behavioral economics, psychology, and anthropology, McClendon explores how and under what conditions status motivations influence politics. Through surveys, case studies, interviews, and an experiment, McClendon argues that when concerns about in-group status are unmanaged by social conventions or are explicitly primed by elites, status motivations can become drivers of public opinion and political participation. McClendon focuses on the United States and South Africa—two countries that provide tough tests for her arguments while also demonstrating that the arguments apply in different contexts. From debates over redistribution to the mobilization of collective action, Envy in Politics presents the first theoretical and empirical investigation of the connection between status motivations and political behavior.

When toxic envy grows unchecked, it will inevitably destroy an individual, a family, a society ���even a civilization. In our day, envy has reached its tipping point, fueling acts of anger, violence, and revenge in America's cities and corporate boardrooms. In this timely and brilliantly written book, Anne Hendershott argues that the political class, social media, and advertisers have created a culture of covetousness by relentlessly provoking us to envy others and to be envied. The result is not surprising: a deeply indignant and rapacious generation that believes no one is more deserving of advantages and rewards than they. Hendershott explains how envy leads to resentment, which eventually erupts into violence and rage, malicious mobs, cancel culture, and the elevation of dysfunctional political systems such as socialism and Marxism. The Politics of Envy

How envy, spite, and the pursuit of admiration influence politics Why do governments underspend on policies that would make their constituents better off? Why do people participate in contentious politics when they could reap benefits if they were to abstain? In Envy in Politics, Gwyneth McClendon contends that if we want to understand these and other forms of puzzling political behavior, we should pay attention to envy, spite, and the pursuit of admiration--all manifestations of our desire to maintain or enhance our status within groups. Drawing together insights from political philosophy, behavioral economics, psychology, and anthropology, McClendon explores how and under what conditions status motivations influence politics. Through surveys, case studies, interviews, and an experiment, McClendon argues that when concerns about in-group status are unmanaged by social conventions or are explicitly primed by elites, status motivations can become drivers of public opinion and political participation. McClendon focuses on the United States and South Africa—two countries that provide tough tests for her arguments while also demonstrating that the arguments apply in different contexts. From debates over redistribution to the mobilization of collective action, Envy in Politics presents the first theoretical and empirical investigation of the connection between status motivations and political behavior.

But the work emphasizes not simply federal government initiatives to curb freedom of choice, but how this extends to sociological and ideological trends in which extremists pit the values of liberty and virtue against each other

The debate within Catholic educational circles on whether church sponsored colleges and universities perpetuate mediocrity by giving too great a priority to the moral development of students instead of scholarship and intellectual excellence continues in this book by sociologist Anne Hendershott. She asserts that part of the reason for the crisis of faith within Catholic colleges is due to status envy--the desire to compete with the top colleges in the country. Catholic universities are generally not rated as top-notch. They are viewed as having a lower status than secular institutions, which, of course, creates resentment. Catholic universities, in turn, become more secular as they become consumed with status concerns. Detailing how this resentment manifests itself on campuses, Hendershott explains faculty and administrative attempts to distance universities from Catholic ideas and curriculum. Some have distanced themselves so far from their Catholic origins that the church no longer recognizes them as Catholic institutions. The author questions whether even determined Catholic universities will be able to avoid the pressures to become more secular. Hendershott, who clearly sympathizes with the original mission of Catholic universities, leads the reader through the earliest signs that Catholic colleges were beginning to lose their way in the 1960s, up through the ongoing issues of feminism and homosexuality and their impact. In focusing on these secular issues, colleges are denying exposure to the traditional Catholic views on subjects such as homosexuality, women's ordination, and abortion. Like all culture wars, the interaction among people defines the situation. The campus is a reflection of the greater culture between those who assert that there are no truths, only readings--and those who believe that the truths have been revealed and require constant rereading and application. It is a conflict between those dedicated to the negation of the authority of Scripture and the hierarchy of the church, and those proposing a renaissance of the Catholic intellect and a renewed appreciation of the church itself.

“Egalitarian Envy is a brave and brilliant contribution to contemporary political theory by one of the seminal thinkers of our era, a work that confronts the most serious problems of modern political theory and challenges assumptions that are rarely examined by leaders in the free world.” —M.E. Bradford, From the Forward “Egalitarian Envy is an intelligent and imaginative book that freshly reconceives some familiar problems.” —Joseph Sobran National Review

An examination of political behaviour from a modern evolutionary perspective. Paul H. Rubin discusses group or social behaviour, including: ethnic and racial conflict; altruism and co-operation; envy; political power; and the role of religion in politics.

How can we achieve and sustain a "decent" liberal society, one that aspires to justice and equal opportunity for all and inspires individuals to sacrifice for the common good? In this book, a continuation of her explorations of emotions and the nature of social justice, Martha Nussbaum makes the case for love. Amid the fears, resentments, and competitive concerns that are endemic even to good societies, public emotions rooted in love—in intense attachments to things outside our control—can foster commitment to shared goals and keep at bay the forces of disgust and envy. Great democratic leaders, including Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr., have understood the importance of cultivating emotions. But people attached to liberalism sometimes assume that a theory of public sentiments would run afoul of commitments to freedom and autonomy. Calling into question this perspective, Nussbaum investigates historical proposals for a public "civil religion" or "religion of humanity" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Auguste Comte, John Stuart Mill, and Rabindranath Tagore. She offers an account of how a decent society can use resources inherent in human psychology, while limiting the damage done by the darker side of our personalities. And finally she explores the cultivation of emotions that support justice in examples drawn from literature, song, political rhetoric, festivals, memorials, and even the design of public parks. "Love is what gives respect for humanity its life," Nussbaum writes, "making it more than a shell." Political Emotionsis a challenging and ambitious contribution to political philosophy.