In this CIS Occasional Paper, Professor Kenneth Minogue traces the roots of modern egalitarianism to the Greek and Christian culture from which Western civilisation springs. But he shows that, despite its superficial moral appeal, egalitarianism is driven by guilt among the rich and resentment among the poor. Yet in a free society, the poverty of some is not caused by the wealth of others. Professor Minogue suggests that today’s egalitarians should spell out not only the benefits of their proposals for redistribution to the poor, but also the costs to everyone in terms of regulation, economic stagnation and loss of freedom.