The Status Game

LIFE IS NOT as it appears. As neuroscientist Professor Chris Frith writes, ‘our perception of the world is a fantasy that collides with reality’. The dream state we exist in is founded on objective truth – we’re alive on a planet, breathing air under skies. But on these foundations we build an infinite variety of imaginary games.

We’re used to thinking of money and power as principal motivating forces of life. But studies suggest that, unlike status, the desire for power over others is not fundamental in humans. Unlike status, it doesn’t strongly predict wellbeing. Moreover, unlike status, the desire for power is quenchable. ‘After acquiring a moderate amount of power, most

But how do we gauge this rank? How do we tell how we’re doing in this game of life? We do it, in part, by assigning values to objects. A Cartier watch is worth this much status; a Casio watch is worth that. These ‘status symbols’ tell us, and our co-players, how we’re performing. We pay obsessive attention to them.

‘That “you” that you are so proud of is a story woven together by your interpreter module to account for as much of your behaviour as it can incorporate, and it denies and rationalises the rest.’

WE DON’T FEEL like players of games. We feel like heroes in stories. This is the illusion the brain spins for us. It makes us feel as if we are the hero at the centre of the universe, orbited by a cast of supporting characters.

Status isn’t about being liked or accepted: these are separate needs, associated with connection. When people defer to us, offer respect, admiration or praise, or allow us to influence them in some way, that’s status. It feels good. Feeling good about it is part of our human nature. It’s in our basic coding, our evolution, our DNA. And it doesn’t r

To admit to being motivated by improving our rank risks making others think less of us, which loses us rank.

hungers. If you want to rule the world, save the world, buy the world or fuck the world, the first thing to pursue is status. It’s the golden key that unlocks our dreams.

An African proverb says, ‘the child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth’.