And so it seems for "social" animals (and I mean "social" in the sense of living in groups as opposed to being "sociable" - which is quite different in the common consciousness) it is a psychological requirement to know one's place in the pecking order. "Class" system runs deep then!
Yet - me for one - fails to see things like this. Clearly I'm profoundly protestant liberal democrat (a la Martin Luther) in which all people are alike in the eyes of "God" or the Absolute (or Null as I'm now calling "it"). What nonsense this "pecking order" - that is for animals, politics and game theory. As I've argued before what Humans take most pride in seems no different from animal (we have the same problems to solve as the worms - we just have a more complex strategy; besides we are all part of the same Life whichever form it takes); where we are human is our ability to transcend the attitude of "individual survival" (as Buddha proclaimed on enlightenment)... yet seeking a place in a heirachy is only individual survival.
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Forgot to add that this was inspired by seeing this method working with badly behaved kids. Kids challenge authority because they want to be put in their place. If authority fails then they get confused and lose all boundaries and control. But for me it seems I'm not like this. I only rebel when I see authority otherwise I'm peaceful. So maybe its only the agressive people who ironically need to feel the comfort of being part of the system. Quiet kids probably respond better to equality than status sparring.
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Economists might challenge the view because of the "hand of the markets" where fighting for individual survival is also the best way to improve the survival of the group. I don't believe this ... do I lack faith in this maybe?
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