Status Anxiety in our Modern Consumerist Society
"Wealth is not an absolute. It is relative to desire. Every time we yearn for something we cannot afford, we grow poorer, whatever our resources. And every time we feel satisfied with what we have, we can be counted as rich, however little we may actually possess.” ~Alain de Botton
Any valuable piece of literature (fiction or non-fiction) has the power to transport our minds as we drift onto a hundred different journeys without ever taking one step outside our doors.
Before his popularity on YouTube with his ‘School of Life’ series, Alain de Botton made Philosophy, Art and History accessible in our contemporary pop culture through his books. I first read this book in 2011 and I recall it as one of the books that influenced my philosophical perspectives and encouraged me to critically reflect on my own values, preconceptions and biases.
De Botton gives remarkable insights on the purpose of philosophical and critical thought, Art, Politics, lovelessness and status, that seem ever more relevant even in the 2020’s. Exploring the connection between materialism and our unending quest for wealth, comfort and status in a world drowning in excesses.
This book with its culmination of art history examples, philosophical quandaries and moral inquiries push the reader to reflect on their own values and thoughts about their own social, economic and moral statuses. By examining these issues from the lens of Art History and Philosophy, De Botton presents both the causes and solutions to our society’s pervading undercurrent of status anxiety.
According to De Botton, "status anxiety" is a detrimental and ongoing worry that we are failing to conform to the ideals of success laid down by our society and that we may as a result be stripped of dignity and respect - leading to us falling even further down the social ladder.
He posits that the causes for status anxiety include:
- Lovelessness
- Snobbery
- Expectation
- Meritocracy
- Dependence
On the other hand, he presents diverse sources where human beings may find solutions to this undercurrent of status anxiety through the following chapters:
- Philosophy
- Art
- Politics
- Christianity
- Bohemia
"Our minds are susceptible to the influences of external voices telling us what we require to be satisfied, voices that may drown out the faint sounds emitted by our souls and can distract us from the careful, arduous task of correctly tracing our priorities." ~Alain De Botton
Have you watched ‘The School of Life’ on YouTube or read any of Alain de Botton’s books? If you are interested in Alain De Botton's thesis about the concept of status anxiety, he also made a fascinating youtube documentary, presenting a compelling and easily digestible version of the book. I encourage you to give it a watch, perhaps it can give you another perspective about the ways we look at our values and beliefs, about our place in the world and essentially, what truly matters.
Status Anxiety Documentary by Alain De Botton
Did you find his thesis on status anxiety relevant in our social media era?
Reference :
De Botton, A. (2004). Status anxiety. Pantheon Books. Chicago Style (17th ed.)
Alain de Botton. (2014, February 26). Alain de Botton: Status Anxiety [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g Accessed 8th November 2024
Images by Artsy Mama Bee 2021. Available at https://www.instagram.com/p/CUocVvUlQ7I/?igsh=MWVlMTE5dnM1NTNxdQ==