"Jealousy and Society" by Helmut Scheck Publisher: Shanghai Joint Publishing Company

Introduction · · · · · ·
“Why me and not someone else?”

Exposing the jealousy buried deep in everyone's heart, a classic work in sociology

Examining individual psychology and social thinking, studying the prelude to contemporary society

Using jealousy as a lens to examine the demands for equality and competition in different fields

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◎Introduction

People are jealous; jealousy always occurs between people who are similar; everything can make people jealous, especially those small differences. Since ancient times, jealousy has been regarded as a shame. The jealous people will not admit it, and society will suppress it.

Focusing on jealousy and society, the author of this book uses history as a laboratory to study jealousy, taking us through the land of jealousy from linguistic proverbs, primitive tribal customs, ancient Greek tragedies, literature, philosophy, psychology, social sciences to the impact of jealousy on politics, economic policies and human behavior. By painting a picture of desire and taboo, the author clarifies the complex relationship between jealousy and society: as a basic psychological characteristic in line with human evolution, jealousy makes the establishment of society possible, but it also hinders social development and innovation. It is impossible to establish complete equality by eliminating all differences.

As a classic work in the sociological study of jealousy, this book is regarded as a prelude to the study of modern society, especially in the current era of the rise of social media, providing a therapeutic beginning for issues such as income disparity and class transition.

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◎Highlights of the Work

★ A classic sociological work, a prelude to today's society. Focusing on the ubiquitous and deeply buried jealousy, Austrian-German sociologist Helmut Scheck systematically examines all aspects of jealousy in popular language, and explains how jealousy invisibly shapes human nature and society. Because of its research on individual psychology and social equality from the perspective of jealousy, this book has been translated into more than a dozen languages ​​since its publication in 1966, becoming a classic in sociology and a prelude to the study of today's society.

★ With history as the axis, reveal the impact of jealousy on human behavior and social operation. From proverbs and sayings to the "black magic" of primitive tribes and the "shame" phenomenon of the Chinese, from Freud's discussion of the process of group instinct to social psychologists' explanation of obedience, from Simmel's psychosocial dynamics to modern social science research on hostility, from the Greeks' view of fate to Weber's theory of religion, from Bacon's "sympathy can always cure jealousy" to Kant's "jealousy is a violation of obligations"...traveling through different fields of human research, explore the mechanism of jealousy's existence and operation in society.

★ Using jealousy as a starting point, we can re-examine individual psychology and social structure. Does the suppression of personality stem from the jealousy between siblings? Does the biggest obstacle to social advancement come from the class of origin? Do overbearing relatives hinder personal progress? Do fans take joint actions because they cannot monopolize idols? Is "loving people far away" just an excuse for poor ability to connect with people? ... By showing the subtle influence of jealousy on personal growth and society, we can re-examine ourselves and society from a new perspective.

★ "Why me and not others?" restates the demand for equality. As a sociological work, the author ultimately settles on the relationship between jealousy and social equality. By examining the worship of poverty from ancient times to the Middle Ages, distinguishing between "justice" and "equality", and discussing the so-called "equal opportunity", especially by describing the kibbutz as an equality laboratory, the author comprehensively examines the egalitarian argument and points out that complete equality is impossible.

★ Analyze social indignation and class differentiation from the perspectives of sociology and anthropology. Why do those who seek future advantages for themselves arouse our hostility? Does the extremely progressive tax system really help to resist the unequal distribution of power? Why are the scapegoats of jealousy always groups outside the country and symbols of wealth? Based on the United States in the 1950s and 1960s where he lived, the author analyzes the causes of social indignation and the root causes of class differentiation from different perspectives such as economy, politics, and society.

★ In the current era of the rise of social media, this book uses jealousy as a lens to look into social psychology. In an era where everyone is constantly showing themselves and being attracted by the shows of others, in an era where people emphasize self-healing and face social division, this book leads us through the land of jealousy, using jealousy as a lens to look into social psychology, and re-examine the mutual influence between individual psychology and social change, and the "competition" under the interweaving of "involution" and "lying flat".

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◎Recommended by scholars

The manifestations and characteristics of jealousy discussed in "Jealousy and Society" are generally known to ordinary people, but it is interesting to systematically explain these under one title. I often think that instead of establishing one empty sociological or psychological system after another, it is better to systematically and deeply study an everyday topic like this book.

——Chen Jiaying

There are two reasons for people's prejudice and hostility towards entrepreneurs: one is psychological and the other is epistemological. The psychological reason is jealousy. The difference between people lies in the degree of jealousy and the degree of control over jealousy. The impact of jealousy on human behavior and social system has not attracted enough attention. Interested readers can read the classic book "Envy and Society" by German scholar Helmut Scheck.

——Zhang Weiying

An excellent and extremely valuable book, beautifully written and containing surprising and illuminating information.

—Karl Popper

About the Author
About the Author

Helmut Schoeck (1922-1993) studied medicine, philosophy and psychology at the University of Munich and the University of Tübingen, and received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Tübingen in 1948. From 1950 to 1965, he taught at several American universities, including Fairmont State College, Yale University and Emory University. In 1965, he returned to Germany and served as a professor at the Institute of Sociology and Philosophy at the University of Mainz until his retirement in 1990.

In addition to his masterpiece "Envy and Society", his "Dictionary of Sociology", which he has continuously expanded and supplemented since 1969, has become a standard reference book in sociology. He also wrote "Nietzsche's Philosophy in Human, All Too Human", "History of Sociology and Its Problems", "America: Motivation and Structure", "Scientism and Values", "Relativism and the Study of Man", "Psychiatry and Responsibility", "The Desire for Guilt", "Unequal Rights", etc.

About the Translator

Tan Gan is a doctor of law jointly trained by Renmin University of China and University of Regensburg, Germany. He is a lecturer at the Law School of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and a visiting scholar at University of Augsburg, Germany. He has translated "On Criminal Responsibility", "Personal Subject Citizens: A Study on the Legitimacy of Punishment", "Introduction to Appropriate Sentencing", etc.