Prestige is the most important and fundamental force of society

As I continue to study history, I become increasingly convinced that it was the notion of prestige that enabled the human pursuit of knowledge, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution—and every event in history that pushed humanity forward. Prestige is inextricably linked with the pursuit of knowledge and self-actualization; and thus, as an underlying motivation for any pursuit in life, should be treated as not only normal and healthy but also crucial. The today metrics of success, happiness, and progress—SAT scores, high school valedictorian, honors, college name, GPA, degrees, names of firms on resume, research journal name/impact score, salary, bonuses, titles, awards, cars, 401k, net worth, zip code, IQ, height to name a few—are also metrics of prestige.

If anything, prestige guarantees safety in one’s community: in a historical sense, those who were prestigious earned food and shelter in their homes, had a say in making decisions for the polity, and gained respect from others that inevitably translated into all parts of their life and emotional well-being. The other key pivot is that prestige and happiness are inextricably linked. Often, those who pursue prestige are satisfied and fulfilled in life, having achieved their goals, and thus happy—and even those who pursue happiness and are successful in that pursuit, in doing so, also pursued prestige indirectly. Finding lasting happiness by completely disregarding prestige and living a shabby, mediocre life, is simply impossible (though if you’re so adamant, feel free to take that chance—I won’t stop you).

Just to be clear: there's nothing remarkable about this observation—it's a fundamental truth of humankind, and disregarding it will only lead you to distort the full complexity of your humanity. When we take breaks, or "clear our minds," and forget about the world of school and work, we aren't retreating to our "humanity" or preserving it—we're destroying it. Something to remember in this age of wokeism and political correctness.