Context
The whole gospel of Karl Marx can be summed up in a single sentence: Hate the man who is better off than you are. Never under any circumstances admit that his success may be due to his own efforts, to the productive contribution he has made to the whole community. Always attribute his success to the exploitation, the cheating, the more or less open robbery of others. Never under any circumstances admit that your own failure may be owing to your own weakness, or that the failure of anyone else may be due to his own defects—his laziness, incompetence, improvidence, or stupidity.
Explanation
Hazlitt’s quip slices to the core of envy politics: if your creed is resentment, then another’s success must be a crime. That sermon is tempting because it offers a shortcut—no need to improve, just denounce. But it poisons the well of cooperation and blinds us to how wealth is created in the first place.
Prosperity isn’t a fixed pie; it’s a bakery we build together. Demonizing those who do well doesn’t feed the hungry—it shuts the ovens. A better ethic admires excellence, partners with it, and expands opportunity so more people can rise. Real justice protects rights and rewards service to others; it doesn’t punish diligence. Don’t hate the lighthouse—use its light to find your way to shore.
