Entrepreneurship and envy

This paper is a critical evaluation of Hayek's “Atavism of social justice” thesis, suggesting an alternative explanation of the widespread demands for social justice in contemporary society. It is based on the analysis of the nature of entrepreneurship and its tendency to incite envy. The advantages of the proposed explanation include a better understanding of the persistent hostility against commerce and the market system and the possibility of a systematic exploration of the factors which make the demand for social justice stronger or weaker. An earlier draft was presented at the Friedrich August von Hayek Memorial Symposium, Bleibach, Germany, June 9–12, 1993. I thank the participants of the symposium for their helpful comments and suggestions.