Seems to me most people in this world are meek & self-respecting in their humility and are quite happy with their lot in life - the simple pleasures of life, love, community and sharing. I dare say say this has been the way of the peasant / working classes since long before the Harrying of the North and long after Peterloo or The Miners Strike and other regrettable occasions in British History when the brutality of the state stamped all over them if only to let them know who's boss.

Envy has nothing to do with it. God knows all we ever wanted was a simple life, but our lot was always to be ruled over by power-crazed idiots simply because we lacked brutish ambition and the machinery of capital, war, law, authority, education, industry etc. etc. to put it into effect, much less the inclination to rampage, rape and burn people into cowering submission. That's your fuedal legacy right there; it's made the UK the great & noble nation that it is today.

This is worth a read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/opinion/krugman-the-austerity-agenda.html?_r=3&smid=fb-share