STATUS GAME: On Social Position and How We Use It

How can our unquenchable thirst for status explain cults, moral panics, conspiracy theories, the rise of social media and the 'culture wars' of today?' Bursting with insights into the hierarchy-crazed hellscape of a world shaped by social media, this book confirms Will Storr's own status as a master storyteller.' - Helen Lewis. What drives our political and moral beliefs? What makes us like some things and dislike others? What shapes how we behave and misbehave in groups? What makes you, you? For centuries, philosophers and scholars have described human behaviour in terms of sex, power and money. Will Storr radically turns this thinking on its head by arguing that it is our irrepressible craving for 'status' that ultimately defines who we are. When we exist as workers in the globalised economy, and citizens of online worlds, the need for status has always been wired into us. This dramatically affects not only our happiness and wellbeing but also our physical health. Without sufficient status we become more ill and live shorter lives. It's an unconscious obsession that drives the best and worst of us - our innovation, arts and civilisation as well as our murders, wars and genocides. Storr takes us on a breathtaking journey through time and culture and he is one of the finest science writers being published today. 405pp.