This post is so I can start collating a few links on the topic of the evil known as social status. (I will do a similar post on the evil known as gossip, if I get the energy.)
From the Internet etc:
“Scientists Find ICEzis Full ofzLosers” https://youtu.be/tCMVwP-J9Hc This is based on the book “Making a CareerzinzDictatorship: The Secret Logic Behind RepressionzandzCoups”, by Christian Gläßel and Adam Scharpf, pub. Oxford University Press, 2025, Online ISBN: 9780197831229, Amazon https://www.amazon.com.au/Making-Career-Dictatorship-Secret-Repression-ebook/dp/B0GH11X16Q. “Who loyally carries out the most brutalzviolence for azdictator? And who overthrows the very leader they swore to protect? Like no other work before it, Making a CareerzinzDictatorship dives deep into the authoritarianzsecurity apparatus to identify which officers participate in repressionzorzcoups--and above all, why. The book’s compelling theory uncovers career pressure as the secret driver behind the two most notorious phenomena of authoritarian power politics. Officers disadvantaged in their professional advancement either try to demonstrate their loyalty to the current regime by participating in repression, or to commend themselves to a successor regime by participating in a coup. The book offers a wealth of unprecedented evidence in support of its unified theory. Based on unique career data on thousands of Argentine army officers, in-depth case studies on Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union, and Jawara’s Gambia, and a global analysis of authoritarian regimes since 1945, a striking pattern emerges: career pressure fuels extreme behaviour. By revealing for the first time the organizational structure, promotion systems, and career paths within the authoritarian security apparatus, the book shows how seemingly banal career concerns shape the bottom-up dynamics of regime survival and collapse. In times of rising authoritarianism, this book offers key insights into how states and societies fall victim to illiberal leaders and their willing enforcers.” And see also, from LinkedIn, these on people who feel they have or are about to lose status punching down: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7484725477744500736/ and https://www.linkedin.com/posts/markchenery_meetoo-blacklivesmatter-share-7469135710546096128-W1uZ/
“Unstatus: How to Stop Playing a Game You Don’t Want to Win” https://www.joanwestenberg.com/unstatus-how-to-stop-playing-a-game-you-dont-want-to-win/ “A
backlash is taking shape against the traditional markers of success and
social position. I call it "Unstatus" – the deliberate rejection of
conventional status symbols in favour of something more elusive, more
authentic, and (perhaps) more suited to our complex modern psyche.”
“I had another realisation about the social hierarchy thing, it's kinda blowing my mind 🤯” https://youtu.be/HEPntUjL6tI
“The Psychology of Social Status” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-psychology-of-social/ “How the pursuit of status can lead to aggressive and self-defeating behavior”
“social status (society)” Encyclopaedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-status
“Social status” Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_status&oldid=1242495109
“Social Class and Social Status” Oxford Bibliographies https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0085.xml
and
“Even in Australia, alarming levels of caste discrimination exist. We must fight it with evidence” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2024/oct/30/even-in-australia-alarming-levels-of-caste-discrimination-exists-we-must-fight-it-with-evidence “Recognising caste oppression’s presence in our country’s south Asian diaspora is the first step towards stamping it out” This is recognisably wrong, and, in my opinion, is a more extreme version of the problem of social status, but still can be classified as - at least partly - being in that category
My posts:
“Post No. 1,476 - Personal responsibility, and the evil of social status” https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/01/post-no-1476-personal-responsibility.html”
https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/search/label/social%20status
https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/search/label/social%20status
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