The mind that evolved for small groups and immediate dangers is now asked to manage a pension. It does its best. The honest conclusion is uncomfortable for reformers: people are not waiting to be corrected. The point is not that people are foolish. The point is that envy is expensive, and we economise on it like everything else. The measure that matters is not what people say about envy but what they do when nobody is scoring.
What the evidence shows
There is a version of this essay that ends with a policy prescription. This is not that version; the mechanism is interesting enough on its own. In the studies we have, the effect is modest, reliable and almost entirely ignored by the people it describes. The point is not that people are foolish. The point is that envy is expensive, and we economise on it like everything else. The usual story is that we are careless calculators. The better story is that we are careful about the wrong things.
