"Our culture embodies mutually exclusive beliefs in tribalism and individual exceptionalism. Tribalism used to depend on family; over the past millennium, it increasingly has come to depend on wealth and status, with new elite groupings developing every day-now they're called "lifestyles." The economic stratification of America isn't dissimilar to the caste system of India, the main distinction being that Americans believe they have the opportunity to gain more and more status if they put their shoulders to the grindstones and employ good ol' fashioned industriousness."
"Rooted in the contradictions of a society that (falsely) promises equal opportunity yet remains profoundly hierarchical, our will to status produces more and more exclusive "tribes." These tribes are rarely defined through explicit discourse, but rather through subtle performed semiotic coding. From the color and weight of our credit cards (business cards in "American Psycho") to the amenities of destination hotels, from the logos embroidered on shirts, hats, and handbags, status functions simultaneously as a mechanism of both distinction and belonging."
Culture embodies mutually exclusive beliefs in tribalism and individual exceptionalism. Tribalism has shifted from family ties to wealth and status over the past millennium, yielding new elite groupings now referred to as lifestyles. Economic stratification in America parallels a caste system, while Americans still profess belief in opportunities for upward mobility through industriousness. A collective will to status produces increasingly exclusive tribes that are rarely defined explicitly and instead operate through subtle, performed semiotic coding. Status signals include the color and weight of credit cards, amenities of destination hotels, and logos on clothing and accessories, functioning as mechanisms of both distinction and belonging. Social media amplifies and exacerbates the performative nature of status signaling.
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