Status and Culture

*"Subtly altered how I see the world." Michelle Goldberg, New York Times*

[Status and Culture] consistently posits theories I'd never previously considered that instantly feel obvious. Chuck Klosterman, author of The Nineties

Why are you the way that you are? Status and Culture explains nearly everything about the things you choose to be and how the society we live in takes shape in the process. B.J. Novak, writer and actor

Solving the long-standing mysteries of culture from the origin of our tastes and identities, to the perpetual cycles of fashions and fads through a careful exploration of the fundamental human desire for status**

All humans share a need to secure their social standing, and this universal motivation structures our behavior, forms our tastes, determines how we live, and ultimately shapes who we are. We can use status, then, to explain why some things become cool, how stylistic innovations arise, and why there are constant changes in clothing, music, food, sports, slang, travel, hairstyles, and even dog breeds.

In Status and Culture, W. David Marx weaves together the wisdom from history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, cultural theory, literary theory, art history, media studies, and neuroscience to demonstrate exactly how individual status seeking creates our cultural ecosystem. Marx examines three fundamental questions: Why do individuals cluster around arbitrary behaviors and take deep meaning from them? How do distinct styles, conventions, and sensibilities emerge? Why do we change behaviors over time and why do some behaviors stick around? The answers then provide new perspectives for understanding the seeming weightlessness of internet culture.

Status and Culture is a book that will appeal to business people, students, creators, and anyone who has ever wondered why things become popular, why their own preferences change over time, and how identity plays out in contemporary society. Readers of this book will walk away with deep and lasting knowledge of the often secret rules of how culture really works.

Autorentext
W. David Marx is a longtime writer on culture based in Tokyo and the author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Lapham’s Quarterly, Popeye, The New Republic, and Vox.

Klappentext

An examination of how we achieve social status by what we consume and how that affects the culture as a whole

Contrary to belief, status signaling isn't just the provenance of the immature or insecure, but a fundamental human need to secure social standing. It drives our behavior, forms our tastes, sets what we buy, and ultimately, determines who we are. It's what's behind "cool," and what drives fashion, music, food, sports, slang, travel, hairstyles, and dog breeds-and even the outsized influence of unpopular things with the "right" audience. In Status and Culture, W. David Marx weaves together history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, cultural theory, literary theory, art history, media studies, and neuroscience to reveal for the first time the inner workings of status. While there have been some explorations in the past about how status needs affect our individual behavior, Status and Culture seeks to go one step deeper and link the behavior of individuals to the formation of our broader culture, at the exact time that the Internet is changing human society in ways that only the concept of status can explain. Marx examines three fundamental questions: Why do individuals cluster around arbitrary behaviors and take deep meaning from them? How do distinct styles, conventions, and sensibilities emerge? Why do we change behaviors over time and why do some behaviors stick around?

Status and Culture is a book that will appeal to business people, students, artists, and anyone who has ever wondered why things become popular or why they often feel pressured to go against their personal tastes. The reader will leave the book with an understanding of the general rules that can be applied to everyday life and feel empowered by better appreciating the effect of social influence on their choices.

Zusammenfassung
*"Subtly altered how I see the world." —Michelle Goldberg, New York Times*

“[Status and Culture] consistently posits theories I'd never previously considered that instantly feel obvious.” —Chuck Klosterman, author of The Nineties

“Why are you the way that you are? Status and Culture explains nearly everything about the things you choose to be—and how the society we live in takes shape in the process.” —B.J. Novak, writer and actor

Solving the long-standing mysteries of culture—from the origin of our tastes and identities, to the perpetual cycles of fashions and fads—through a careful exploration of the fundamental human desire for status**

All humans share a need to secure their social standing, and this universal motivation structures our behavior, forms our tastes, determines how we live, and ultimately shapes who we are. We can use status, then, to explain why some things become “cool,” how stylistic innovations arise, and why there are constant changes in clothing, music, food, sports, slang, travel, hairstyles, and even dog breeds.

In Status and Culture, W. David Marx weaves together the wisdom from history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, cultural theory, literary theory, art history, media studies, and neuroscience to demonstrate exactly how individual status seeking creates our cultural ecosystem. Marx examines three fundamental questions: Why do individuals cluster around arbitrary behaviors and take deep meaning from them? How do distinct styles, conventions, and sensibilities emerge? Why do we change behaviors over time and why do some behaviors stick around? The answers then provide new perspectives for understanding the seeming “weightlessness” of internet culture.

Status and Culture is a book that will appeal to business people, students, creators, and anyone who has ever wondered why things become popular, why their own preferences change over time, and how identity plays out in contemporary society. Readers of this book will walk away with deep and lasting knowledge of the often secret rules of how culture really works.