Class envy

Class envy is a phenomena where one class envies conditions of another. Some people claim that the primary cause of the discontent of the poor is the generation of envy towards the rich by some third force. These proponents of the idea of class envy describe class relations primarily interms of voluntary cultural beliefs. The term's culturalist response to class antagonism denies the possibility of a genuine basis for class conflict. Additionally, class envy as a term describes social classes entirely in terms of their monetary wealth. This is unusual sociological practice given that most sociologists define class in terms of relationship to production or a group of economic, status and access indicators. The term is most often used in the political practice of right-wing American political culture where it is usually deployed to defend the wealthy's interests, though occasionally it is deployed to explain the origins of popular culture.

However, the uncritical development of the term "class envy" does not mean that envy between the rich and the poor does not exist. Elements of the phenomena exist in other cultures - for example, the persistant Australian myth of the "dole bludger," one who avoids work and lives on the wealth of others. Another Australian example would be the "tall poppy syndrome" where any successful individual is destroyed by their social group as success is believed to come from dishonesty. Despite the existence of genuine envy between classes, the constricted political rhetoric of the term "class envy" limits its usefulness in serious social study.

The term "class envy" could well be viewed as a weapon deployed in class warfare to attack another class' economic, cultural or political beliefs as merely grounded in base envy.

The poor envy the rich

Class envy is typically used to account for why some of the poor hate, envy or dislike the rich. Proponents of the idea of class envy argue that the poor are encouraged by some third party (usually a liberal, socialist or communist) to envy the material possesions of higher income people.

Those who accuse the poor of class envy claim that the wealthy are justified in their current position, and that any claim that the wealthy did not achieve the position through effort is envy. Proponents of the idea of class envy argue that the purpose of inspiring class envy is to agitate for a social redistribution of wealth. This neatly ties in with the claim that the third party causing envy in an otherwise socially passive group of poor has an ideological interest in redistribution of wealth. The proponents of the idea of class envy rarely see the envy as a result of the social condition of the poor, or the ability of poor people to examine their own situation thoughtfully and critically.

Some cliches expressing envy towards the rich include:

that the rich "won life's lottery".
referring to low income people as 'working people' and not stating that higher income people also work.
that the rich "were born with a silver spoon in their mouthes" - that wealth is inherited rather than attained through effort.
referring to all business people as robber-barons.

The rich envy the poor

It is not just the poor who envy the rich, the rich often envy the poor. Historically this phenomena has appeared in a variety of societies. Perhaps the most poignant example of this form of class envy is the pastoral court games of Louis XIV's France. Here aristocrats played at being peasants without any of the muck, poverty or responsibility of agricultural labour. Often it is believed that the poor live "simple, honest lives" or that those relying on welfare or charity to survive are cheating those members of society with wealth.

An example of this form of class envy is the commercialisation and popularisation of elements of lower class culture. Many of the staples of present mass culture originally had their origins in lower class communities. For example:

Jazz, Blues, Rock and Rap originally began as lower class culture.
Jeans, Bandanas, Baseball caps, Prison-wear and underwear displaying pants began as lower class culture.
Cinema and Television drama were originally viewed with disdain by the wealthy, but patronised by working class people.

These elements of culture, which are often viewed by the wealthy as degraded or obscene are suddenly considered to be "more authentic" or "naturalistic" when turned into expensive products of consumer culture. Some working class organisations like the Situationist International were been very critical of this process, claiming it as an example of the wealthy's envy for the poor. The Situationists' suggested response was detournement.

Some stereotypes of the wealthy's envy of the poor include:

The wrong side of the tracks boyfriend or girlfriend myth.
"Sowing one's wild oats" amongst the poor.
The Dignity of Labour myth.
The myth of the simple life of poverty.
The appropriation of third world cultural artefacts as minor domestic decoration.
The wide-spread belief in the "undeserving poor" who get to live for free.