The happiness of being envied is glamour.
Being envied is a solitary form of reassurance. It depends precisely upon not sharing your experience with those who envy you. You are observed with interest but you do not observe with interest - if you do, you will become less enviable. In this respect the envied are like bureaucrats; the more impersonal they are, the greater the illusion {for themselves and for others} of their power. The power of the glamorous resides in their supposed happiness: the power of the bureaucrat in his supposed authority.
Being envied is a solitary form of reassurance. It depends precisely upon not sharing your experience with those who envy you. You are observed with interest but you do not observe with interest - if you do, you will become less enviable. In this respect the envied are like bureaucrats; the more impersonal they are, the greater the illusion {for themselves and for others} of their power. The power of the glamorous resides in their supposed happiness: the power of the bureaucrat in his supposed authority.
( John Berger )
[ Ways of Seeing ]
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