Musings Report #47 11-19-16 The High Cost of Stress-Reducing Social Status
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The High Cost of Stress-Reducing Social Status
In Musings Report 44, I discussed The Sources of Stress in a Stressful Era, and the role high social status plays in garnering stress-reducing social support.
Correspondent Michael M. addressed modern-day stress and the cost of maintaining social status in a recent email:
For me ambiguity is the key issue (that produces stress) these days. It arises from the over-complexity, which is often rained on subjects for just that purpose.
I see it almost daily even in highly educated people such as IT co-workers - they are struggling with ambiguity and often not have found reasonable (i.e. logically sound) systematic approaches to approach and manage it.
As for the social support arising out of higher social status: this ignores the fact that such emotional support most of the time isn't given for free either, but always includes some quid pro quo.
Having been raised without any experience in hugs and massages (due to a shortfall from my parents), I have for decades waited (and monitored others) for unconditional emotional support - and now I can state -after having mostly overcome my void about 7 years ago- that such a thing practically doesn't exist anymore (?) in Western countries. (Or was it always like that?)
It's closer to what Madonna (and Nile Rodgers) so caricature-wise laid out in the song "Material Girl."
So in summary relieving stress through social support, which however needs to first be deserved by accumulating and maintaining social status, sounds to me more like a Baron Munchhausen-type "solution": he pulls himself out of a mire by his own hair.
Thank you, Michael, for your insightful comments on social status and social support/comfort. Here are two stanzas of Material Girl:
They can beg and they can plead
But they can't see the light (that's right)
'Cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always Mister Right
'Cause we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
Complexity and ambiguity are definitely related, at least emotionally, as it takes considerable emotional and intellectual energy to distill complex interactions and dynamics down to a level where ambiguity is reduced to manageable levels.
Overwhelming complexity generates high levels of ambiguity which then generate high levels of stress.
Modern work places seem to only become more complex and hence more stressful. So the need for social support only increases.
But as Michael points out, there is a peculiar self-referential feedback loop to maintaining the high social status that elicits more emotional/social support: to maintain high social status, one must offer something of value to the group that grants high social status.
In other words, those seeking more social support must first give others the same support they seek, or more material benefits that are in a sense "traded" for social support.
In general, relationships are mutual and reciprocal: everyone must give something of value in exchange for receiving what they value. The child-parent relationship is not a workplace bond: ideally, the parent and child offer unconditional love to each other.
Even friendship has an implicit reciprocity: friendships in which one person takes support but never offers any in return don't last.
The crossover between material and emotional offerings is imperfect: how much authentic support will the Big Boss receive for passing out bonuses? Or is the faux support he receives mostly aimed at currying political favor?
It seems to me that social status/support is intrinsically complex and ambiguous--ironically, two sources of stress that social status is supposed to alleviate.
Group politics in the workplace or community are qualitatively different from family/friends relationships, even though reciprocity and mutual benefit are present in both sets of social ties.
Authenticity separates the political from the profound: are the public displays of support intended to build political ties with powerful players equivalent to the support of a real friend? We all know the answer is no: the support of a true friend or close relation in a moment of crisis is irreplaceable.
So yes, we do pull ourselves from the mire of despair by our own hair, by providing emotional support to those we care about in their hours of need. Hopefully, in our hour of need, one of those people will give us support, if not unconditionally, then at least authentically.
Summary of the Blog This Past Week
The Great Con: Political Correctness Has Marginalized the Working Class 11/18/16
The Pressing Problem Nobody Dares Discuss 11/17/16
Now Is the Winter of our Discontent: Our Era of Rising Discord 11/15/16
The New Nobility Uses Political Correctness to Fragment the Precariats 11/15/16
Fearmongering Propaganda Is Immensely Profitable--and Distracting 11/14/16
Best Thing That Happened To Me This Week
Finally slogged through the final edit my latest book on inequality and privilege.
Market Musings: the US Dollar's Breakout
As a USD Bull since 2011, the recent breakout of the US dollar didn't surprise me. Rather, what surprises me is the number of dollar Bears who expect the USD to decline or crash.
Like all things tradable, currency valuations boils down to supply and demand. Whatever is oversupplied and in low demand will lose value/decline in price. Whatever is scarce and in high demand will rise in value/price.
Currencies reflect many things: the strength of the issuing entity/nation, the yield paid on bonds denominated in the currency, and the demand for loans/cash in that currency.
The supply of USD has not risen that much while demand is strong due to rising yields and the "flight to safety" value of the USD.
In a world of uncertain risk, the USD gains value simply by being a relatively predictable store of value.
As I always say, no nation ever became stronger by steadily weakening its currency. The race to the bottom has no winner.
From Left Field
An Inconvenient Barn -- fascinating long-form story about development in San Francisco and my old friend's refusal to give up his home/community.
Why You Should Blame The Economics Discipline For Today’s Problems
Why are so many first-generation Chinese immigrants supporting Donald Trump?
Corporate America’s old boys’ club is dead – and that’s why Big Business couldn’t stop Trump
Prefrontal cortex damage abolishes brand-cued changes in cola preference (via Dave P.)
You’ll Only Understand Trump and Brexit If You Understand the Failure of Globalization
The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond
We are living in a depression – that's why Trump took the White House
Rust-belt romantics don’t get it: the middle class is being wiped out too
In the Wake of Digital Tribalism, Institutions Are More and More Useless (via GFB)
Trump won because college-educated Americans are out of touch
the end of identity liberalism (via Tom R.)
Global Trumpism: Why Trump’s Victory Was 30 Years in the Making and Why It Won’t Stop Here
"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray." Rumi
Thanks for reading--
charles |
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