The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

havoc in public life also. It is not to be supposed
that out of something as evil as envy good results
will flow. Those, therefore, who from idealistic
reasons desire profound changes in our social
system, and a great increase of social justice, must
hope that other forces than envy will be
instrumental in bringing the changes about.
All bad things are interconnected, and any one of
them is liable to be the cause of any other; more
particularly fatigue is a very frequent cause of
envy. When a man feels inadequate to the work he
has to do, he feels a general discontent which is
exceedingly liable to take the form of envy towards
those whose work is less exacting. One of the
ways of diminishing envy, therefore, is to diminish
fatigue. But by far the most important thing is to
secure a life which is satisfying to instinct. Much
envy that seems purely professional really has a
sexual source. A man who is happy in his marriage
and his children is not likely to feel much envy of
other men because of their greater wealth or
success, so long as he has enough to bring up his