I was fascinated by your comment that actually what we see is disagreements between the new right and the new left in America about how the status game is rigged. I think both of those sides sincerely believe the world like that, even though the reality is far more complicated than either of those kind of simplistic stories would have you believe. So talking before about how we experience life as a story and the story that we experience is the one that flatters our own beliefs and our sense of status and heroism. And so that does feel like a pretty important core insight. And also I think we see the dangers of the virtue game on both sides of the political aisle. Right.
“Life is a game. There’s no way to understand the human world without first understanding this. Everyone alive is playing a game whose hidden rules are built into us and that silently directs our thoughts, beliefs and actions. This game is inside us. It is us. We can’t help but play.”
So begins “The Status Game,” a new book by acclaimed writer Will Storr.
He continues: “We play for status, if only subtly, with every social interaction, every contribution we make to work, love or family life and every internet post. We play with how we dress, how we speak and what we believe. … Life is not a journey towards a perfect destination. It’s a game that never ends. And it’s the very worst of us.”
Does it have to be?
We may not be able to quit the status game, but Will says we can learn to play it better. In this episode, he explains how.
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