Envy is conscious or unconscious hostility toward a superior, someone who is better off or more accomplished in some important way. Because envy is a completely negative emotion, it usually is repressed, denied, disguised, and relabelled. The most common outward expression of envy is gossip. In this chapter, envy will be defined and differentiated from jealousy, an innocent wish, admiration, and emulation. Jealousy is a protective reaction to a perceived threat to a valued relationship. Examples from everyday life illustrate envy called jealousy, envy unnamed, and envy correctly named. Envy both threatens and helps to preserve social order. We explore the hidden social usefulness of envy and the political institutions by which it is managed. Envy is inescapably political. Envy is considered in various contemporary institutional settings, including the family, the workplace, advertising, competitive sports, educational opportunity, and academia.