The Real Problem of Envy

ABSTRACT Envy poses a threat to the stability of cooperative institutions. John Rawls advances a provocative articulation of how this could be, arguing that increasing inequality generates sufficient envy to threaten stability. I contend that this perspective is mistaken due to a faulty understanding of the psychology of envy. However, rather than dissipating the problem of envy, as some suggest, a proper understanding of the psychology of envy should lead us to believe that the problem of envy is harder to deal with than it initially seems. I argue that the opacity of market processes provides fertile grounds for potentially destabilizing envy. This, I assert, is the real problem of envy. The upshot is that addressing this issue suggests more attention to cultural practices than to principles of justice or formal institutions.