The Politics of Envy

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.