{"id":22030,"date":"2020-09-11T06:45:48","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T06:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=22030"},"modified":"2020-09-14T03:05:57","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T03:05:57","slug":"quarantine-envy-could-finally-wake-people-up-to-the-deep-inequalities-that-pervade-american-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/quarantine-envy-could-finally-wake-people-up-to-the-deep-inequalities-that-pervade-american-life\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Quarantine envy’ could finally wake people up to the deep inequalities that pervade American life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jessica Rosenfeld<\/a>, Washington University in St Louis<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In recent months, mental health experts have been drawing attention to what they\u2019ve dubbed \u201cquarantine envy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many people, they note, have been sizing up the extent to which they\u2019ve been affected by lockdowns and economic hardship. Who still has a job? Who gets to work from home? Whose home is spacious, light-filled and Instagram-worthy?<\/p>\n

The start of the school year adds another layer of comparison. Parents stuck in a small apartment with two kids forced to learn remotely might feel pangs about the fact that their friend\u2019s kids get to attend a private school in person.<\/p>\n

What should we do with these unpleasant feelings? Should we repress them or reason them away? Are they too shameful to be shared?<\/p>\n

Envy is one of Christianity\u2019s seven deadly sins \u2013 the worst of them all, says the Parson<\/a> in Chaucer\u2019s \u201cCanterbury Tales.\u201d But my research into the long history of envy shows that the emotion has many sides to it.<\/p>\n

Some are certainly destructive. But envy can also be useful. The \u201csin\u201d can help us better understand ourselves and the world around us \u2013 and it can be a key driver of social change.<\/p>\n

Tales of envy<\/h2>\n

Envy has a bad reputation. Everyone feels it at one point or another, although we often don\u2019t want to admit to being truly envious of others \u2013 harboring the kind of envy that gnaws at us and makes us feel inferior.<\/p>\n

\"One
A 15th-century illustration of a classic fable of envy and greed.<\/span>
\nMorgan Library<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Portraits of envy can show it as an astonishingly malicious emotion. One version of a popular fable<\/a> tells the story of an envious man and a greedy man being given a single wish. The one condition is that the person who does not get to choose the reward will be given double what the other man wishes. The greedy man quickly asks that the envious man be given the choice; the envious man then wishes to be blinded in one eye.<\/p>\n

In William Langland\u2019s poem \u201cPiers Plowman<\/a>,\u201d the personification of Envy confesses that all he wants is for his neighbor, \u201cGybbe,\u201d to have something bad happen to him; he wants this even more than he wants cheese (which is saying a lot, if you ask me!).<\/p>\n

In these stories, envy is typically defined as wanting misfortune for others, longing to feel superior in some way or at least making them just as miserable as you are.<\/p>\n

Late medieval literature is also filled with stories that point to envy as a source of violence.<\/p>\n

The chronicler Jean Froissart<\/a> describes the social unrest associated with the Peasants\u2019 Revolt of 1381<\/a> as a consequence of the envy the commoners had toward the nobles and the rich.<\/p>\n

Here \u2013 and elsewhere \u2013 envy is a label used to diminish the political claims of a particular group of people. In 2012, Mitt Romney accused Barack Obama of practicing the \u201cbitter politics of envy<\/a>.\u201d In this way, criticism of the rich or powerful, or wanting the wealthy to be taxed more to fund public services, brings accusations of petty envy and resentment.<\/p>\n

When envy spurs social change<\/h2>\n

Modern understandings of envy are also related to other kinds of negative feelings, like anger that someone has undeserved wealth or frustration that certain groups are hoarding money, power, or privileges.<\/p>\n

Here is where envy can take a turn that can lead to better outcomes. Envy can be productive when it is not directed at one person in particular but is instead directed at the way society is structured.<\/p>\n

Economists and political scientists increasingly recognize<\/a> that reducing inequality can be an end in itself. Envy \u2013 even the kind of nakedly competitive envy that seeks to damage others for no personal gain \u2013 can work to regulate inequality that has grown too wide.<\/p>\n

Political scientist Jeffrey Green defends policies driven by a \u201creasonable envy<\/a>\u201d that targets the well off, even if there is no expectation of gain for everyone else. For example, he says that capping wealth might lower the material welfare for all, but this would be worth the reduction in inequality, since excessive or unjust inequality can lead to instability and feelings of disempowerment among ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n

Economist Robert Frank prefers taxing consumption to reduce \u201cluxury fever<\/a>,\u201d in which competitive spending escalates wildly, especially among the super-rich, leaving less money for individuals and the government to spend on essential services.<\/p>\n

\"Personification
An illustration of the personification of envy from a medieval manuscript.<\/span>
\nThe Morgan Library<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In their new book, \u201cThe Economic Other<\/a>,\u201d political scientists Meghan Condon and Amber Wichowsky open with the line, \u201cThe human imagination is an engine of comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their studies, they show that politics is driven by the social imagination \u2013 and Americans have fewer opportunities for comparison because of increasing class segregation in our society. Middle-class and poorer Americans see the wealthy online and on TV but not in everyday life. The authors believe policies might become more just if there were more opportunities for \u201cupward comparison\u201d \u2013 if everyday Americans could simply see, in their day-to-day lives, the extent to which the wealthy lead extravagant lives. Their research suggests that envious comparison would lead to more support for government spending on welfare, Social Security and education.<\/p>\n

[Deep knowledge, daily.<\/em> Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

Dwelling with envy<\/h2>\n

Aristotle<\/a> has a much more specific \u2013 and negative \u2013 definition of envy. In his view, the emotion is directed toward our equals. We become envious when our neighbors have something we desire and believe we deserve, and when we feel it is our own fault that we do not have that good thing.<\/p>\n

He distinguishes envy from other comparative feelings like emulation, indignation or pity. These kinds of distinctions are helpful, because thinking carefully about emotions can give us information about ourselves and our environment. Some philosophers describe emotions as reasoning tools<\/a>, a shortcut to filter copious amounts of information.<\/p>\n

In a time of quarantine \u2013 when comparisons often involve who has the best version of being alone \u2013 dwelling with envy can open our eyes to ourselves and the world.<\/p>\n

Do these negative feelings say something about ourselves? Are they specific to another person? Or do they reflect an unjust system?<\/p>\n

Can these disparities change? If so, what could bring that about?<\/p>\n

Trying to manage or avoid envious feelings doesn\u2019t allow us to answer \u2013 or even ask \u2013 those questions.\"The<\/p>\n

Jessica Rosenfeld<\/a>, Associate Professor of English Literature, Washington University in St Louis<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jessica Rosenfeld, Washington University in St Louis In recent months, mental health experts have been drawing attention to what they\u2019ve dubbed \u201cquarantine envy.\u201d Many people, they note, have been sizing up the extent to which they\u2019ve been affected by lockdowns and economic hardship. Who still has a job? Who gets to work from home? Whose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":22031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[8610,5733,483,488,1740,581,2033,7633,6116,461,486],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22030"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22030"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22039,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22030\/revisions\/22039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}