There is a philosophical question that has haunted humanity since the invention of the neighbor:

What would happen if we stopped comparing ourselves to others?

The short answer:
Half the economy would collapse,
social media would empty out,
and politicians would have to work instead of talk.

In other words – a full-blown crisis.

Comparison: The National Sport

In Israel, comparison is not just a habit.

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It is an identity.

We do not ask, “How am I living?”
We ask, “How do I look compared to others?”

Your car does not need to be good.
It needs to be better than your neighbor’s.

Your kid does not need to succeed.
He needs to be more successful than your army buddy’s kid.

The vacation does not need to be enjoyable.
It needs to look expensive on Instagram.

This is not competition.

It is an operating system.

Social Media: The Comparison Factory

Once, you compared yourself to five people: family, neighbors, maybe a colleague.

Today, you compare yourself to the world.

And not the real world – the edited version.

Everyone is winning.
Everyone is traveling.
Everyone looks better than you, even at 7 a.m.

And you?

You are stuck with reality.

That is not fair.

But it is also not real.

Social media does not show life.

It shows marketing.

And we are buying.

The Politics of Comparison

The state plays the same game.

We constantly compare:

“Why does it work in Finland?”
“Why is it cheaper in Denmark?”
“Why is everything so organized in Switzerland?”

Nice questions.

Small problem:

Finland is not surrounded by enemies.
Denmark is not located in the Middle East.
Switzerland does not argue with itself about everything for 75 years straight.

But why let reality ruin a good comparison?

Comparison gives a sense of moral clarity.

You can say “over there it works” without asking why.

The Economy of Envy

Let us drop the sarcasm for a second.

This is a real economic engine.

People do not buy based only on need.

They buy based on comparison.

If everyone upgrades their phone – so do you.

If everyone flies abroad – so do you.

If everyone buys overpriced apartments – you panic and join.

Markets are not driven only by logic.

They are driven by fear of falling behind.

And that fear is worth billions.

So What Would Actually Happen If We Stopped?

Here is where it gets interesting.

If people stopped comparing:

Less impulsive buying
Less debt
Less social pressure
Less fake competition

But also:

Less motivation
Less ambition
Less drive to improve

The uncomfortable truth?

Comparison is also fuel.

The problem is not comparison itself.

The problem is comparing your real life to someone else’s highlight reel.

The Israeli Identity: Between Drive and Paranoia

The average Israeli does not just want to succeed.

He wants to succeed fast, loudly, and with visual proof.

There is something admirable in that:

A small country with outsized achievements.

But there is also a cost:

A permanent sense of not enough.

There is always someone earning more.
Always someone traveling more.
Always someone who looks like they know what they are doing.

And the truth?

They are comparing themselves to someone else too.

It is an endless chain of people feeling “almost there.”

The Media: Amplifier of Comparison

The media does not just report.

It ranks.

It creates lists:

“The most expensive cities”
“The richest people”
“The happiest countries”

And then you sit at home, look at the list, and realize you are not in any category.

Congratulations.

You just lost a competition you never signed up for.

The Bottom Line

So what would happen if we stopped comparing ourselves to others?

We would probably be calmer.
Richer (or at least less in debt).
And less obsessed with impressing people who do not actually care.

But we would also be a little less hungry for success.

The trick is not to stop comparing.

That is impossible.

The trick is choosing who to compare yourself to:

Not the person selling a dream,
but the person living a life.

And in Israel, that is already a radical decision.

Because in a country where everyone wants to be number one,

the real achievement might be simply stopping-

and realizing you are already running in the wrong race.

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