Many speak the truth when they say that they despise riches, but they mean the riches possessed by others.

Contempt for wealth is often just contempt for wealth in the wrong hands. The feeling is genuine, which is what makes it convincing to the person having it, and it rarely survives the arrival of the money. Recognising that in yourself is uncomfortable and it is not damning; envy dressed as principle is among the most ordinary things a person does.

When you find yourself disapproving of somebody’s advantage, run the test honestly and ask whether you would refuse it. If the answer is no, your objection may be about how things are shared out rather than about the thing itself, and that is a different argument worth making properly.