So this is something I've been thinking about recently.
To these eyes, the desire to claim and project status (be it moral, economic, or otherwise) is one of the most uniquely powerful and unacknowledged forces in our daily lives. The attempt to outwardly portray oneself as possessing superior material or moral or mental means - regardless of whether they're consistent with how one actually lives his or her life - seems to have become an all-encompassing pursuit. I mean, what's the point of making a big production out of the fact you use a reusable bag in the checkout line if you're just going to load those groceries into a Hummer and transport them to an unecessarily large pantry in your unecessarily large 5500 square foot home in a gated community?
What exactly is gained from projecting oneself as wealthy or worldly or unselfish? Why does it seem like those most obsessed with projecting their status are also those who are least self-aware and highly likely to suffer from cognitive dissonance? What is it about our culture that makes people so intensely interested in projecting status via aesthetic means? To what extent does society encourage these shallow displays and validate them as a means in constructing one's identity?
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 3:38 pm Posts: 20059 Gender: Male
Quote:
seems to have become
has it not always been that way? is it any different than a bird's aim to stand out from the crowd by being flashiest to attract a mate (i think i saw that on animal planet once)? while that might not directly address your question, it can change where to look for the answer.
_________________ stop light plays its part, so I would say you've got a part
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 12:47 pm Posts: 9282 Location: Atlanta Gender: Male
Good question, perhaps the duality of man?
A variety of psycological reasons. Upbringing and environment has something to do with it. Self Esteem has a LOT to do with it. Mating rituals.... the desire to feel like you are doing something good.... marketing.... etc.
You can't buy talent.... but you can buy what your hero wears or plays or drives.
A lot of what you mention simply makes people feel better about themselves and thier place in the world.
They do it or rather we do it to make us feel important or morally superior or successful or happy or proud etc.
A lot of us are simply not all that happy with what we are or have become.
Not everybody can be Stephen Strasburg.... some of us have to shovel shit....and it's sort of depressing if you extrapolate that over 70 years....so we constantly strive to change or get better or get less full of shit or whatever and along the way... we buy shit that makes us feel better about it.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:57 pm Posts: 3332 Location: Chicago-ish
thodoks wrote:
So this is something I've been thinking about recently.
To these eyes, the desire to claim and project status (be it moral, economic, or otherwise) is one of the most uniquely powerful and unacknowledged forces in our daily lives. The attempt to outwardly portray oneself as possessing superior material or moral or mental means - regardless of whether they're consistent with how one actually lives his or her life - seems to have become an all-encompassing pursuit. I mean, what's the point of making a big production out of the fact you use a reusable bag in the checkout line if you're just going to load those groceries into a Hummer and transport them to an unecessarily large pantry in your unecessarily large 5500 square foot home in a gated community?
What exactly is gained from projecting oneself as wealthy or worldly or unselfish? Why does it seem like those most obsessed with projecting their status are also those who are least self-aware and highly likely to suffer from cognitive dissonance? What is it about our culture that makes people so intensely interested in projecting status via aesthetic means? To what extent does society encourage these shallow displays and validate them as a means in constructing one's identity?
Not so sure about the bold...
I think Americans are just insecure about the size of their dick, so they compensate
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:28 am Posts: 28541 Location: PORTLAND, ME
homersheineken wrote:
thodoks wrote:
So this is something I've been thinking about recently.
To these eyes, the desire to claim and project status (be it moral, economic, or otherwise) is one of the most uniquely powerful and unacknowledged forces in our daily lives. The attempt to outwardly portray oneself as possessing superior material or moral or mental means - regardless of whether they're consistent with how one actually lives his or her life - seems to have become an all-encompassing pursuit. I mean, what's the point of making a big production out of the fact you use a reusable bag in the checkout line if you're just going to load those groceries into a Hummer and transport them to an unecessarily large pantry in your unecessarily large 5500 square foot home in a gated community?
What exactly is gained from projecting oneself as wealthy or worldly or unselfish? Why does it seem like those most obsessed with projecting their status are also those who are least self-aware and highly likely to suffer from cognitive dissonance? What is it about our culture that makes people so intensely interested in projecting status via aesthetic means? To what extent does society encourage these shallow displays and validate them as a means in constructing one's identity?
Not so sure about the bold...
I think Americans are just insecure about the size of their dick, so they compensate
Signalling, duh. Don't you read Marginal Revolution, thodoks?
No, I get that, bart d. I don't read Marginal Revolution all that much as I've never been that big of a fan of Tyler Cowen.
I'm less interested in the utility of signaling status than I am the psychological machinations that enable us to reconcile (conceal?) the cognitive dissonance that often accompanies it.
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:44 am Posts: 3539 Location: England Gender: Female
thodoks wrote:
bart d. wrote:
Signalling, duh. Don't you read Marginal Revolution, thodoks?
No, I get that, bart d. I don't read Marginal Revolution all that much as I've never been that big of a fan of Tyler Cowen.
I'm less interested in the utility of signaling status than I am the psychological machinations that enable us to reconcile (conceal?) the cognitive dissonance that often accompanies it.
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