Benign envy

Abstract

Envy has long been held to be a harmful emotion involving the desire to deprive others of the qualities or possessions that they possess and we covet. When the various religious injunctions against such malicious envy were conceived, the consumption landscape was vastly different. There was no branding, advertising, mass media, consumer credit, or Internet; neighbors knew neighbors; social hierarchies were relatively fixed; and discretionary income was largely unknown. This conceptual synthesis suggests that contemporary consumption is driven far more by benign envy involving a desire to "level up" through consumption emulation rather than "level down" by harming others. The concept of benign envy is developed along with an analysis of the forces leading to its displacement of malicious envy and its key role as a motivator of consumption. The paper concludes with a theoretical development of forms of envy and being envied and derives implications for theory and research.

Collective Narcissism, Anti-Globalism, Brexit, Trump, and the Chinese Juggernaut

“…Tough talk and brash behavior could well be perceived as showing "them" that "we" are superior and cannot be intimidated. Furthermore, if we aspire to wealth ourselves, whatever envy we may feel toward Trump and his cabinet of billionaires is more likely to be benign rather than malicious (Belk 2011).…”

Changes in the consequences of consumer envy due to ease of coping and social comparison targets

“…Russell Belk, one of marketing's most original and insightful thinkers, has once again made a valuable theoretical contribution, this time by taking on the topic of envy (Belk 2011). His analysis challenges the notion that envy has largely harmful consequences, emphasizing instead its benign consequences as a motivator of consumption in contemporary society.…”

“…Envy is always directed at a person (Belk 2011). This puts it in the same category as other interpersonal emotions, such as anger, admiration, pity, sympathy and disgust.…”

“…An envious consumer might cope by removing from sight that now irritatingly inferior possession, which is easier in a "throwaway" society where goods are short-lived and easily discarded. Belk (2011) makes the valuable point that historical changes have steered contemporary consumers' coping efforts away from those that have malicious interpersonal consequences. A benign means of coping involves acquiring the desired possession, which reduces envy and increases happiness (Ackerman et al 2000).…”

“…A benign means of coping involves acquiring the desired possession, which reduces envy and increases happiness (Ackerman et al 2000). Our affluent society of unlimited goods makes it easy to acquire that possession or some variant of it (e.g., populuxe goods, opuluxe goods, counterfeits) (Belk 2011). Consumers can even lease otherwise unaffordable goods, such as automobiles and designer clothing.…”