Status Anxiety - Alain de Botton Flashcards
Status Anxiety discusses the desire of people in many modern societies to “climb the social ladder” and the anxieties that result from a focus on how one is perceived by others.
De Botton claims that chronic anxiety about status is an inevitable side effect of any democratic, ostensibly egalitarian society.
We should worried by the truth and not opinion
No comparable increase in the levels of satisfaction when
compared to wealth, over last few decades
Modern state of restlessness = status anxiety
We don’t understand the psychology of satisfaction
We only feel content when we compare ourselves to our neighbours. No one resents being poorer than the Queen.
In 1776 America had a revolution which changed the world.
Historically, people would accept the status they were born into, whether the caste system in India, or the aristocratic feudal system of European nations.
Alexis de Tocqueville spent 9 months in the US and wrote ‘Democracy in America’. He described the relationship between equality and a gnawing sense of envy.
He said, “when inequality is the general rule in society, the greatest inequalities attract no attention. But when there is equality, the slightest variation is noticed. This is the reason for the melancholy often haunting democracies in the midst of abundance.’
Gore Vidal: “Every time a friend of mine succeeds, a small part of me dies.”
All barriers to social expectation had been removed.
Low status Americans are prone to view their condition as betrayal of their expectations.
We torment ourselves with comparisons of our lives and those on a few rungs up the ladder
fall prey to - to suffer as a result of something
Why are we so unable to curtail our painful aspirations?
We are all now expected to succeed.
There is a real benefit to seeing life as a cruel joke
Our expectations have grown exponentially in the democratic age. The system seems intent on removing any excuse from our failures. Luck has disappeared as a plausible explanation for what happens to people in their life.
Rousseau said there are 2 ways to make people richer: to give them more money or to restrain their desires. Modern societies have succeeded spectacularly at the former.
Concept of noble savage - modern societies might leave us more deprived than primitive ones.
Self-esteem = Success/Expectation
The US is not a meritocracy. There is a cruel idea to a meritocracy. People merit both their success and their failure.
Christianity has been remodelled in the US to fit the idea of the American Dream.
The game of contemporary life is to judge other people
Low paid work is not always distasteful owing to the lack of money but rather the shame one feels.
Our self-esteem is largely built upon the views of others.
We seek 2 forms of love: romantic love and love from the world
We often shop for emotional rather than practical reasons. They are a signal to the world that we are worthy of dignity and respect.
Everybody wants attention and love
People are attracted to status symbols because they want to feel valued. This is an emotional subtlety that people sometimes miss.
