DOMINANCE PRESTIGE X “Dominance demands fear, prestige earns admiration, and rank compels respect—yet it’s rank that quietly rules our modern world.”

 A

Here’s a bullet-point gist of Robin Hanson’s “Neither Dominance nor Prestige: Rank” (Oct 21):

• Three forms of status:

  • Dominance – based on power or coercion (threats, control). Produces fear and submission.

  • Prestige – based on recognized competence or virtue. Produces admiration and voluntary respect.

  • Rank – based on institutional authority or credentials. Produces compliance and often resentment.

• Dominance: influence through fear; fades when authority is absent.

• Prestige: influence through earned respect; lasts beyond the person’s presence.

• Rank: influence through official position or title; others must defer even if they don’t believe in it.

• Historical shift:

  • Forager societies (small, personal): only direct reputation mattered; no need for rank.

  • Agrarian villages (larger, semi-personal): indirect reputation arose but still tangible.

  • Modern societies (vast, impersonal): institutional rank became necessary for coordination.

• Emotional reactions:

  • Dominance → fear

  • Prestige → admiration

  • Rank → resentment or ambivalence

• Moral tension:

  • We admire genuine honor (prestige) but feel embarrassed to chase rank, since it is enforced rather than earned.

  • Institutions require rank to function, yet people distrust and resent it.

• Key insight:
  Modern life depends on rank as much as power or honor—but because rank feels partly illegitimate, people pursue it covertly while publicly disdaining it.

a

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