Status anxiety
by Alain De Botton · first published 2005
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Readable, insightful look at how a meritocratic society ties self-worth to achievement and others' opinions, with ideas for escaping the race to prove yourself. Suits readers new to philosophy.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This is a book about an almost universal anxiety that rarely gets mentioned directly: an anxiety about what others think of us; about whether we’re judged a success or a failure, a winner or a loser. This is a book about status anxiety. We care about our status for a simple reason: because most people tend to be nice to us according to the amount of status we have (it is no coincidence that the first question we tend to be asked by new acquaintances is ‘ What do you do?’). With the help of philosophers, artists and writers, the book examines the origins of status anxiety (ranging from the con
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…Considered to be one of the masterpieces of literature, but it's so long that I can't really recommend it. "The Sales Acceleration Formula" - Mark Roberge - I'd recommend this to any entrepreneur. "Status Anxiety" - Alain de Botton - A pretty good pop scienc-y psychology book. "Zero to One" - Peter Thiel - A philosophy book imo. "Tokyo Vice" - Jake Adelstein - A look at the underbelly of Japanese society. "Capitalism…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗@Matt, You might enjoy Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton. A lot of the criticisms you attribute to startups could just as well be directed toward the entire system that ties social status to money and success. If startups are more blameworthy…
on “Why Not To Do A Startup” ↗Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, R Pirsig Recently each of Alain de Botton's books (Status Anxiety, Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and Essays on Love) had a valuable lesson to teach. Alexander Pope's 'Essay on Criticism' (poem, not a book) was one the first poems that I gleaned something from, and…
on “Ask HN: Books that changed your life?” ↗I think most of us are quite ambitious and really want succes. Alain de Botton presents his view on succes. If you like it, his book Status Anxiety is also a great read on this very subject.
on “Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success (video)” ↗Status Anxiety - Alain de Botton It's about how we have come to live in a meritocracy, where your status depends on what you have achieved. Very insightful and readable work by the contemporary philosopher/writer.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗If you are interested in this subject, I would recommend 'The Architecture of Happiness' by Alain De Botton, and 'Status Anxiety' (even though the a later is not focused on architecture, it is complimentary). The books were also made into documentaries that are available on Alain De Bottom's YouTube channel.
on “Philosophy of Architecture (2015)” ↗I may be barking completely up the wrong tree here, but the first thing that came to my mind here was the situation described by Alain de Botton in Status Anxiety: namely spending a lifetime pursuing goals and values belonging to OTHER people (e.g. parents, society, etc), rather than your own. Then you achieve all these goals only to realise, what now. Great book,…
on “Tell HN: Turned 44 today and I'm lost” ↗…counterintuitive. I figure, hey, I'm pretty smart, so if it's intuitive then I can probably figure it out on my own. A list of stuff I cite most often: No Contest & Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton PG's essays & ITConversations interviews The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto The Singularity is Near by Kurzweil This graph: http://alexkrupp.com/picture_library/plot.jpg…
on “Articles, Ideas, Books and/or Concepts that have changed your life” ↗Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403538/ ) is an excellent look at this and the US in general.
on “Checking out of 'Hotel America'” ↗Anything by Alain De Botton but especially "Consollations of Philosophy" and "Status Anxiety", "How To Live: Micheal De Montaigne" by Sarah Bakewell, and "Philosophy for Life" by Jules Evans. None of them are hardcore academic works; they're just really interesting introductions to how philosophy…
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite way to save money?” ↗…order to feel good about themselves. And it's unrealistic to expect extroverts to be happy with valuing their self-worth the way introverts do. [1] Alain de Botton has a great book on this topic entitled Status Anxiety: http://alaindebotton.com/status/
on “What I Learned from a Stroke at 26: Make Time to Untangle” ↗I recommend a book or at least watching a video on YouTube - Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton
on “Ask HN: How to stop my greed for money?” ↗If you found this article interesting, I can highly recommend the book (and documentary) "Status Anxiety", by modern philosopher Alain de Botton. The video has a couple of gems, such as the comparisson between an english country-side vicar, and an american TV preacher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g
on “We moderns are status-drunk” ↗Alain De Botton has a fantastic book about this called "Status Anxiety"[1]. The book gave me a fresh perspective on how to avoid being trapped in the race to prove yourself to others. [1]https://www.amazon.com/Status-Anxiety-Alain-Botton/dp/037572...
on “Productivity porn” ↗…towns, and winners drive expensive cars. With this idea in mind, calling it crap towns becomes an attack on the people, rather then the town itself. This idea is thoroughly explored in Alain de Botton's "Status Anxiety"
on “I wrote a book called “Crap Towns”. It seemed funny at the time” ↗