Status Comparison Quotes

Being the director - way fancier than 'just' being the writer. People call you 'talent.'

Every man is a king so long as he has someone to look down on.

Harvard's Kennedy School of Government asked me to serve as a fellow at its Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy. After my varied and celebrated career in television, movies, publishing, and the lucrative world of corporate speaking, being a fellow at Harvard seemed, frankly, like a step down.

He is lofty, and I am eminent.

I don't think old posh is as intimidating as new posh, is it?

Court the society of a superior, and make much of the opportunity; for in the company of an equal thy good fortune must decline.

The rationale that etiquette should be eschewed because it fosters inequality does not ring true in a society that openly admits to a feverish interest in the comparative status-conveying qualities of sneakers. Manners are available to all, for free.

No prince, no king, no president has ever lived a better life than I have!

Everybody has to feel superior to somebody," she said. "But it's customary to present a little proof before you take the privilege.

Rock stars get room keys, I get business cards.

Social distinctions tend to matter only at your own level and above.

Notwithstanding the supposed egalitarian ethos of some hunter-gatherer societies, humans are a hierarchical social species. We care greatly about where we stand in comparison to some relevant reference group.

As in the presence of the Master, the Servants are equall, and without any honour at all; So are the Subjects, in the presence of the Soveraign. And though they shine some more, some lesse, when they are out of his sight; yet in his presence, they shine no more than the Starres in presence of the Sun.