William Collins , 2022
Book Review by K.S.Loganathan.
Will Storr is a British author who has written six books. His latest book is a multidiscipinary research into the fundamental role of status- seeking in human life and well being. According to the author , status-seeking is the alpha and omega of our whole existence. Evolution has programmed us to seek to join groups and then strive for rank within them. We recognize the same symbols of power and status within the group and pursue them ardently to the extent that they direct our thoughts and behavior . Storr cites numerous examples drawn from diverse sources such as early primitive tribal groups through to the large nation states of today to show how the games of the triad of dominance, virtue and success shape our behavior at the individual and collective levels. The new science of social genomics explains why a loss of status is a major source of anxiety and depression.
Our brain-generated projection of the cosmos is illusory ; from sensory elements within it and shared imagination we hallucinate and construct a personal narrative that ties together all the disparate elements of our conscious experience ,create order from chaos and manufacture the illusion of self and its heroic life journey. Through our moral bias we conclude we are a better person than most. Our genes, upbringing and peer groups push us in certain directions to achieve ever-greater status, acquiring status symbols according to rules while persuading us that it is real. Ultimately we are the sum of the status games we play. #In dominance games, status is coerced by force or fear; mafias and armies are examples of such players. In these, the leadership must make status for the members by awarding esteem and influence in ways that conform to its rules. The Nazis and Communists usurped power and aimed their hatred at groups they perceived as having status that was unearned ,while conferring rank and rewards on their adherents. Cults maintain their power by being the sole significant provider of connection and status for their members. In social media, status – striving, groupism , trolling and banning are brazen display of dominance.
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In virtue games , as in religions , status is awarded to the moralistic ,with rewards not in this life but the next. Adherents of the faith must do as their gods, priests and sacred texts instruct. By the medieval era , the Catholic Church, with its strict rules on incest and salvation, had become the most powerful institution in Europe, and the Pope the most powerful human alive ; the rise of Protestants checked it somewhat by changing the paradigm, but it was itself an extension of the virtue game. Unbelievers of Islam were often denied legal and social privileges ,and in some Muslim communities, paid higher taxes. Hindus have a stratified caste system. In social media, wellness gurus and political campaigners pursue the virtue game.# In success games , status is awarded for outcomes that require skill, talent or knowledge as in sports or reality television ;in social media there are the selfie- takers and humble braggers. They all perform better with an appreciative audience.
Often an entity uses all three varieties e.g. Apple plays a success game in innovating ,a virtue game in advertising, and a dominance game when defending their intellectual property. The combination of virtue and success games (” prestige games”) by high status individuals persuades others to copy them.
A route to high social rank opened when wealthy traders formed a middle class, and wealth and higher educational achievements enabled social mobility for commoners . For a long time, it was sustained by the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the other western countries, and more recently by the Reagan era neoliberal approach to markets . However, professional success and its symbols are increasingly measured in individual wealth , which has exacerbated inequalities .# At present ,the western world sees a battle between the ‘New Left’ and the ‘New Right’ for domination in the political space . The New Left are disillusioned with their decline in status ,being highly educated and internet -socialized, and when in power its elite rewards its members by supporting Diversity, Equit, and Inclusion programs in academia, journalism, publishing , politics, and social media .The New Right, characterized by Trump and Brexit supporters, including ethnic minorities whose status has declined in the neoliberal era due to their lack of college degrees and skills needed in the Knowledge Economy, are also disillusioned ; automation , immigration and outsourcing have taken away their jobs and their wages have stagnated even as inflation and pandemic losses have mounted. Education disparities and a failure to offer equal opportunities across race, class and gender for social status lie at the heart of this divide.# The author believes that the only way to understand a world gone status-conscious is not through reason or logic but by playing along with it. He lists seven rules which in his opinion mitigate the adverse effects of dominance, virtue signaling or hyper-professionalism , basically aiming at warmth, sincerity, competence, and moderation in ambition.
My Views
Although there is some detailed treatment of Communism in Russia and China, the source materials are mainly British and American in origin .The passing references to India are limited to the caste system, communal violence in Gujarat and the hierarchical ” tight” culture. The book may be taken as applied to western civilization as it has progressed to date ; hyper-individualism in the face of the political battles between the blood- and- soil nationalism of the right ranged against the egalitarian utopias of the left. The impact of Artificial Intelligence has not been explored, but it has added a new dimension to the problem . In the book, traditional Eastern philosophies of spiritual progress , renunciation, Dharma and Moksha are not even looked at. This has shut the door to a pullback from the mindless pursuit of wealth (artha) and hyper- individualism to the detriment of community welfare and moral values in western cultures.
The author does not use the term ‘ego’, and ‘status drunkenness’ is his term nearest to it. In Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, learning how to transcend the ego is tantamount to learning how to love ourselves and others. Otherwise we lose ourselves in the many illusions ego sets before us.
As other countries may be tempted to flirt with their own versions of illiberalism , the authoritarian pandemic may cast long shadows all over the world and afflict individuals who are, on the face of it ,the most immune to it .This detailed exposition of the western way of how you see others and how you see yourself is an eye-opener to the precarious position of individual status in the era of neoliberalism and social media.
