The Status Game
On Human Life and How to Play It
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The Status Game
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Narrated by:
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Will Storr
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By:
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Will Storr
About this listen
‘Will Storr is one of our best journalists of ideas … The Status Game might be his best yet’ James Marriott, Books of the Year, The Times
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. In The Status Game, bestselling author 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.
From the era of the hunter-gatherer to today, when we exist as workers in the globalised economy and citizens of online worlds, the need for status has always been wired into us. A wealth of research shows that how much of it we possess dramatically affects not only our happiness and wellbeing but also our physical health – and 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. But why is status such an all-consuming prize? What happens if it’s taken away from us? And how can our unquenchable thirst for it explain cults, moral panics, conspiracy theories, the rise of social media and the ‘culture wars’ of today?
On a breathtaking journey through time and culture, The Status Game offers a sweeping rethink of human psychology that will change how you see others – and how you see yourself.
©2021 Will Storr (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘Will Storr is one of our best journalists of ideas … The Status Game might be his best yet’ James Marriott, Books of the Year, The Times
‘[The Status Game] challenged the way I think about the role of status in my own life and in some ways it made me feel less terrible about some of my unhealthy fixations. If you find yourself needlessly worried about status, it might do the same for you … I can’t stop thinking about it’ Sean Illing, Vox
‘Eloquent, entertaining’ New Statesman
‘Moving … Scholarly … Storr showcases a rare skill – the ability to use technical academic scholarship in solving a real-world problem’ Helen Dale, CapX
‘I haven’t finished reading The Status Game because I’ve only read it once. There's so much in this dazzling book I will be revisiting over and over again’
Daniel Finkelstein, author of Everything in Moderation
‘The Status Game could not be more timely and provides a missing piece for understanding where we are, and how to get out of this mess … I can’t recommend it highly enough’
Greg Lukianoff, co-author with Jonathan Haidt of The Coddling of the American Mind
‘Thought provoking and enlightening – you’ll be discussing The Status Game everywhere you go’ Sara Pascoe
‘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, author of Difficult Women
‘A radical new theory of human nature … It should – quite appropriately – establish Will Storr as the finest science writer being published today’
David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap
What listeners say about The Status Game
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-02-24
Hard to refute
Very good explanation of pretty much all human interactions. but conclusion is an apologist for capitalism, greed and social darwinism.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Lane Antunes
- 09-02-23
Enlightening!
An Amazing book. I recommended it for people who are truly interested in understanding human nature.
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- D Clark
- 07-09-22
Fascinating and insightful read
Every now and again a book comes along that makes you think for as long as it takes you to read the book. This book is one of those.
a must read for both sides of the political spectrum.
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- Joakim Wahlström
- 16-09-22
The Best book for understanding humanity.
This is maybe one of the best books I have ever read.
The book presents a model for our main driving force to act and and strive, which is to seek higher status among our peers. Through our inescapable status games we humans play whether we want too or not.
This enables us to understand ourselves, humanity as a whole, and large parts of our history. Thank you Will Storr for writing this.
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- Anonymous User
- 12-09-21
The unchangeable human condition, explained
Storr compellingly tells our truth, "we are in the 21st century as we've always been, great apes hunting connection and status inside shared hallucinations." In his own voice he synthesizes evo psych, behavioral psych, political economies, organized religion, and social media to fashion a necessary lense with which we can better understand our shared delusion.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Gammon Buster
- 15-09-21
Fascinating!
An eye opening book that really puts life into perspective. Well worth a read / listen!
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- ghoti
- 10-09-22
An neglected niche
Once in a many number of years comes a book that truly speaks to you. For me this is one of those. I feel as if it made total sense of nearly all areas of struggle in my life.
The subject of status is very rarely touched upon in an overt way in popular self-help literature, as I discovered when I wanted to continue my foray into this subject, there was not much out there.
Now I can address the nub of most issues that bother me - from simple FOMO (from which I suffer greatly) to what job to take or where to live - not with complex explanations or rationalisations, but with a simple question of what effect something will have on my status and how I feel about it. This is what I feel I was trying to do all along but this book now gives me the language to do that.
So, Will Storr has hit on a neglected concept, one which I think is the driver behind most, if not all our behaviours. If you think you're not driven by status games then you're probably resigned to yours, whether that be high or low? Agree or not, this is the type of debate this book opens up.
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- Michael Shea
- 05-12-21
Fascinating insight underpinning all that we do
I heard about this book when it was plugged on the radio and instantly knew it would be something for me. The author makes a compressive analysis on a key aspect of human behaviour seem like I knew it all along. At times, the examples used are gripping and able to be extrapolated to all areas of my own life. I must admit the book gets a little dry in the middle, but this could be because I found it more challenging to relate to my own life.
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- Rostam
- 23-03-22
I liked the book
It was too long.
Many examples for a rather simple concept: Status is an intangible resource and attractive to acquire as any other resource.
I particularly like the book because it's well researched and includes subjects such as psychology, sociology, anthropology and history.
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- Eileen
- 16-09-22
So fascinating and well written
i loved this book. i feel like i understand the social world more deeply, also myself and my partner, family and friends. i am going to read all Will Storr's other books now!
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