Status Anxiety, introduced by Alain de Botton, is an idealistic view of inferior brought upon Americans. This idea is based upon how we anxiously worried the way one builds up our view. The term “status” doesn’t balance the equalness among others. We say that we are all equal, but in reality we are not. We care at one point if we are either a success or a failure. Americans are commonly comparing themselves to those who are wealthier than they are. By continuously comparing each other, we end up feeling we lack things and demand for more. Alain de Botton stated, “It is the feeling that we might, under different circumstances, be something other than what we are- a feeling inspired by exposure to the superior achievements of those whom we take…show more content… Luxury goods and services becomes a necessity to have economic power. Furthermore, our necessities we demand affects how much we are satisfied after purchasing. On the contrary, Status Anxiety does interferes this idealistic view of “moneybrain” based upon consuming now rather than consuming and saving later on. The brain attracts the immediate gratification a consumer is pressured on spending now rather than tomorrow because pleasure is worth more now than the future. Americans are trying to achieve a high standard on the social ladder and by doing so it is through…show more content… It is viewed that the rich are good, generous, and praised worthy. For instance, the text states, “It was the wealthiest who deserved praise for helping all the other social classes; it was the rich who housed the poor and fed the needy.” The poor are seen as weak, drained on resources, and greedy. In a Social Darwinism’s perspective, the sufferings and deaths of the poor benefits the society as a whole. To come across Botton’s hypothesis, either being rich or poor, social standards affects Status Anxiety regardless. A person doesn’t want to be label “poor” and look down upon while struggling to achieve to the top. On the other hand,I feel a person labeled as “rich” doesn’t understand the sacrifices one takes not to fail in life. The wealthy people has it easy in my perspective because they don’t have to face looking down upon themselves nor face obstacles in life since they have money to cover it. I feel it would be extravagant to be rich, but I would rather be inferior and understand the purpose of life by going through obstacles. We should remedy Status Anxiety. First of all, comparing yourself to those who are better than you will only harm yourself and bring down your confidence. In addition, you shouldn’t demand for more because you lack from items. There’s others who has it worse than you do, so you should be grateful for what you have. To overcome Status Anxiety,
