... jealousy did not exist?

Today I'd like to think about what would happen if jealousy didn't exist. We all know this feeling and we've experienced it for sure multiple times in our life. It's often not something we are able to control and it can overcome us suddenly. We often realize only later that we were acting irrationally out of jealousy. So our first impression would be to celebrate the end of jealousy, wouldn't it?

There are for sure many advantages. We wouldn't be uselessly competing with each other and wouldn't lose time of our life trying to be better than others. Out of jealousy and the desire to be the best many people try to slow down their competitors by sabotaging them. No jealousy would equal no or less sabotaging. A big advantage would be the additional trust in a relationship once jealousy is out of the picture. It's certainly much easier to get along if you don't suspect your partner to run after everyone they look at. In general, people would probably be less hateful since a lot of hate grows from jealousy.

On the other hand, there are quite a few disadvantages. Without the natural competition and the urge to improve your skills, even if it is only to be better than your fellow human beings, humanity could get stuck. Maybe progress would slow or die down in the end. Moreover, the concept of a traditional family could be completely shattered. "Cheating" might be just normal and kids don't grow up with both their parents. Many people also say that jealousy equals a sense of justice and if we lose that sense we would allow the gap between the rich and the poor to get bigger. Because if we don't envy what the rich have we don't seek the change we need in our world.

In the end, jealousy like all our other emotions is important for our society and ourselves. However, we are responsible to balance these emotions.