Status Sickness

How modern society hijacks our ancient desire for status

Zappys Technology Solutions, CC 2.0, Image provided by author

How much time do you spend thinking about your status?

If you answer honestly, you’ll probably admit that you dwell on the subject a lot. Consider all of the ways in which we are constantly measuring our social ranking in comparison to other people. You probably think about:

• Your status within the workplace: are you a valued employee?
• Your employment-related status in the wider society: does your occupation garner respect compared to others?
• Your educational status: are people impressed by your level of education and the institutions that taught you?
• Your identity-based status: does your gender, ethnic, religious, or racial identity place you in a particular position in your society?
• Your economic status: do you have a lot of money? Do you have more or less than most people in your neighborhood or social circle?
• Your status among your friends, family, and colleagues: do they listen to you? Do they see you as a leader of the group or a follower?

The anthropologist Ralph Lipton described two basic categories of human status. There’s achieved status, which is, to some extent, something that you can control through your…