Alain De Botton

An interesting and compelling idea is discussed in the “Equality, Expectation, and Envy” section of Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety. Botton discusses the way that we as a culture define ourselves among others is based upon how we view the status of others around us. He also argues that we feel a drive to consistently achieve a social status that is equal to or greater than that of our peers. As a whole, Botton uses this chapter of his book to argue that our need for social status, as well as our natural envy, is directly related to who we see as our equals, the social construct that by nature we are all equal, as well as the relationship between expectations and achievements. To elaborate on the reference to our peers, Botton describes

Similar to the ancient Greek belief expressed in Aristotle’s Politics, Christianity introduced the idea that inequality was part of natural law and was therefore inescapable. Botton mentions the 12th century work Policraticus by John of Salisbury to further state this idea. Using Salisbury’s main points, Botton writes “the ruler was the head, the parliament was the heart, the court was the sides, officials and judges were the eyes, ears, and tongue, the treasury was the belly and intestines, the army was the hands and the peasantry and laboring classes were the feet” (31). This new perspective on things brought forth the idea that a society or government was actually ruled and controlled by the people. Botton also mentions Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan to further support this idea. The egalitarian concept of all people being equal in their roles of society began to expand the range of our reference group, which in turn lead to a dramatic increase in envy and jealousy among citizens. Botton continues this chapter by elaborating on the idea that these new ideas helped to shape and form the type of societies in which we live in today. The nature of these ideas increased the social difficulty of the societies they formed. He gives an example this by saying that “Democracy, by definition, tore down every barrier to expectation” (34). Botton further supports this idea by referencing

The key example that he uses is Anthony Robbins’s Awaken the Giant Within to illustrate how every portion of the media raises up expectations by repeating to the masses that anyone can become anything from any situation. The outlets for media uplifting do not stop there, for by the end of the twentieth century, 98% of American households owned a television of some sort. In the 1930’s, Americans would spend around 130 million hours at the movie theatres and nearly a billion listening to the radio each week. The sudden surge in media didn’t stop there. Advertisement became a fast-growing industry, with an estimated worth of $500 billion by 1900. Botton brings a close to his chapter by speaking on the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Botton mentions Rousseau’s idea about the concept of wealth: “Wealth is not absolute. It is relative to desire. Every time we yearn for something we cannot afford, we grow poorer, whatever our resources” (43). Botton uses Rousseau’s argument to further support his own: comparing hunter-gathering societies to modern day civilizations in terms of success and happiness