# The Nature of Status and Progress By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-11-21 There is a belief that everyone would be happier if everyone had enough money. There would still be sadness and suffering, but it would be less. However, how much money would this be? Some studies say it is $70,000. Given the US government's budget, one could devise a way to make this happen. But would it work? It's hard to say, but I suspect it wouldn't work today, given the current economic system, values, and incentives. Think of it like instantaneous inflation. If suddenly everyone who didn't have $70,000 now had it, would retailers and companies instantly charge more? I think they would. So, more than $70,000 is needed to achieve the same level of happiness. New studies might indicate that the new number is $90,000. And the cycle continues forever. The only way to prevent this is to create disincentives that prevent companies from raising prices. Maybe some would assume that companies would not raise prices because everyone would be happier with their $70,000, so they would view that they had enough profits. Here, one is underestimating the human behavior of greed and seeking the highest status possible. All it would take is one or two companies to act this way, not be reprimanded, and then we'd return to where we started. Furthermore, organizing at this level is virtually impossible. For example, see any "communist" experiment ever. For it to work, it has to be cultural value evolution. As a species, we are moving in this direction, but it'll be hundreds of years before it becomes a reality. This does not mean one should give up, as doing the work today is part of the path to get there sooner. But, one cannot deny systems, the nature of distributions at generating tops and bottoms, and our collective suffering. If this still needs to be clarified, consider what happens when someone on the bottom gets placed on the top. Someone else will be at the bottom. What happens if we push everyone from the bottom to the middle? The middle is now the new bottom. What happens if we push everyone upwards? The top is still the top and the bottom is still the bottom. This is the problem with any progressive plan based on status or anti-status. This includes things like the elimination of poverty (low status), movement to prosperity (high status), and increasing equality (elimination of status). To move forward, accept the nature of status and transcend beyond in solidarity with the human condition with ironic sincerity. #### Related Items [[Economics]] [[Systems Thinking]] [[Status]] [[Metamodernism]] [[Progress]]