# Status and Hierarchy By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-10-27 Humans innately seek higher status. Is one a diamond member of a hotel chain? Does one manage more people? Does one have the nicest house on the block? Who makes the most money? All these things are indicators of status that one often feels proud of or jealous of not having. As social animals, status provides us a way of knowing where we fit in the world, who are the best mates, and what progress looks like. I wonder whether this innate behavior is changeable, as it may be the defining characteristic of social beings. So, are we doomed to be greedy and power-hungry? Not necessarily. While status-seeking may always exist, what we define as higher status is a culturally defined attribute. In today's America, we largely define status via income, winning games (note: this isn't just sporting games), and organizational size (e.g., number of people in one's "flock"). Each of these creates systemic byproducts that one may deem good or bad. With income, there is only so much money. The more you have, the less others have. Is having more beneficial to society? With winning games, there are winners and losers. Regardless of the game's rules, we associate winners as good and losers as bad. Is there any game in life that is truly equitable and fair to make such a value judgment? With organizational size, one individual has disproportionate influence, power, and control. Countless examples exist where this has caused significant suffering. Does the size of one's flock provide any perspective on goodness, virtue, and value? If one looks for alternative status definitions, what pros and cons would one uncover? Certainly, every status definition will create a hierarchy, as this is how human individuals can work as a collective. The question is whether that status hierarchy creates more good than bad as defined by everyone in the hierarchy. What would the world look like if things like learning, thinking, solidarity, and pursuing meaning defined status? What modern problems are eliminated? What new problems would emerge? The next phase is not the destruction of hierarchy but the creation of better ones. #### Related Items [[Status]] [[Hierarchy]] [[Solidarity]] [[Progress]] [[Metamodernism]] [[Winning]] [[Games]] [[Behavior]] [[Systems Thinking]]