Status Is Overpriced
status is necessarily nebulous, it's much less of an abstraction than money. This is the basic currency of social animals: it can be traded, saved, invested, loaned out, or crystallised. Unlike health or knowledge capital, status is liquid—it can be readily exchanged for sex, information, money, or other favours.
Richard Meadows • Optionality: How to Survive and Thrive in a Volatile World
my roman empire is how & why people signal status:
1. Patricians
high wealth, low need for status
ex: Loro Piana
2. Parvenus
high wealth, high need
ex: Birkin lawsuit
3. Poseurs
low wealth, high need
ex: dupes, Stanleys
4. Proletarians
low wealth, low need
ex: Carhartt
1. Patricians
high wealth, low need for status
ex: Loro Piana
2. Parvenus
high wealth, high need
ex: Birkin lawsuit
3. Poseurs
low wealth, high need
ex: dupes, Stanleys
4. Proletarians
low wealth, low need
ex: Carhartt
Danielle Vermeer • Tweet
There are two types of status:
Bought Status is the improved social positioning garnered through acquired status symbols:
The expensive car, watch, handbag, or jewelry acquired for the sole purpose of showing others your financial wealth
The club membership that makes you a part of the scene
The private plane flight or boat trip taken more for the Inst... See more
Bought Status is the improved social positioning garnered through acquired status symbols:
The expensive car, watch, handbag, or jewelry acquired for the sole purpose of showing others your financial wealth
The club membership that makes you a part of the scene
The private plane flight or boat trip taken more for the Inst... See more
But it has one terrible feature that sets it apart from all the other currencies of life. Unlike wealth, or health, or learning, status is purely positional. The size of the pie is fixed, and everyone's out to get a slice of it.