Envy Up, Scorn Down: How Status Divides Us

From the publisher:

The United States was founded on the principle of equal opportunity for all, and this ethos continues to inform the nation’s collective identity… [H]owever… the gap between rich and poor has widened in recent decades, and the United States has the highest level of economic inequality of any developed country. Social class and other differences in status reverberate throughout American life, and prejudice based on another’s perceived status persists among individuals and groups. In Envy Up, Scorn Down, noted social psychologist Susan Fiske examines the psychological underpinnings of interpersonal and intergroup comparisons, exploring why we compare ourselves to those both above and below us and analyzing the social consequences of such comparisons… The book deftly shows that understanding envy and scorn—and seeking to mitigate their effects—can prove invaluable to our lives, our relationships, and our society.

Envy Up, Scorn Down: How Status Divides Us, by Susan T. Fiske. New York : Russell Sage Foundation, 2011. 240 p. ISBN 9780871544896 (pbk.)

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