Envy rarely stops at “equal shares.” It whispers that if someone is ahead, justice means dragging them back—or better yet, stepping on their neck on the way up. Hazlitt reminds us that resentment isn’t a quest for fairness; it’s a hunger to rule and to settle scores, dressed up as equality.

The antidote is aspiration, not leveling. Seek equality before the law, not forced sameness of outcomes. Let the success of others be a signal, not a sting: learn, emulate, build. Gratitude beats grievance; charity outshines spite. When we trade envy for excellence, we lift ourselves without tearing anyone down—and that’s the kind of justice that makes a people truly free.