Social Status Quotes

“To be truly positive in the eyes of some, you have to risk appearing negative in the eyes of others.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“As a girl, she was a legal prey, especially if she was dressed in a worn black leather jacket and had pierced eyebrows, tattoos, and zero social status.”
― Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

“Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box.”
― Italian Proverb

“But isn't it likely that everyone in this world...has killed someone or other on their way to the top?...All I wanted was a chance to be a man--and for that, one murder is enough.”
― Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger

“The last time everyone loved or at least liked everyone was when the world had a population of about 4.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana, The Use and Misuse of Children

“It is a mark of insincerity of purpose to spend one's time in looking for the sacred Emperor in the low-class tea-shops.”
― Ernest Bramah, Wallet of Kai Lung

“Rich people are another species. Sort of lost in their own way. It's a good thing they have country clubs and shit because it keeps them kinda corralled up in one place.”
― Peter Heller, The River

“Ones Turd smells the same be of Servant or Prince (English Translation)”
― Ricardo Arjona

“What my family seeks in this marriage is prestige; what I seek is happiness.”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

“We had long thought of them as a tableau; Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a straddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door.”
― William Faulkner , A Rose for Emily

“The very rich and the very poor have so much in common... no one expects them to conform to social niceties. It’s only those of us in the middle who must constantly prove our worth to both sides.”
― Margaret Stohl, Jo & Laurie

“Those who cannot win trophies and medals, they create status symbols for themselves.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“For class is a type of bubble, a membrane around one, and although one might grow within this membrane, and strain against it, it is impossible to break free from it. And a man of nobility is always such in his soul, however he may fall; and a man of humble sort is always such in his soul, however he may climb.”
― Imogen Hermes Gowar, The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

“On social barriers, VJ Simon, the Indian-Jewish venture capitalist in The Best People observed: "Some of those rich and powerful people I met risked a few dollars with me. They only risked money. They didn't risk their social status. We never met at one of their clubs. We had lunch at Elegante. I thought of it as the five o' clock curtain.”
― Marc Grossberg, The Best People: A Tale of Trials and Errors

“Until the billionaire and the janitor become equal in your eyes, you are yet to be a civilized human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Hurricane Humans: Give me accountability, I'll give you peace

“Democracy driven by populism leads to a savage, superstitious and divided society, not a civilized, thinking and united one.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Time to End Democracy: The Meritocratic Manifesto

“Between the extreme limits of this series would find a place all the forms of prestige resulting from the different elements composing a civilisation -- sciences, arts, literature, &c. -- and it would be seen that prestige constitutes the fundamental element of persuasion. Consciously or not, the being, the idea, or the thing possessing prestige is immediately imitated in consequence of contagion, and forces an entire generation to adopt certain modes of feeling and of giving expression to its thought. This imitation, moreover, is, as a rule, unconscious, which accounts for the fact that it is perfect. The modern painters who copy the pale colouring and the stiff attitudes of some of the Primitives are scarcely alive to the source of their inspiration. They believe in their own sincerity, whereas, if an eminent master had not revived this form of art, people would have continued blind to all but its naïve and inferior sides. Those artists who, after the manner of another illustrious master, inundate their canvasses with violet shades do not see in nature more violet than was detected there fifty years ago; but they are influenced, "suggestioned," by the personal and special impressions of a painter who, in spite of this eccentricity, was successful in acquiring great prestige. Similar examples might be brought forward in connection with all the elements of civilisation.

It is seen from what precedes that a number of factors may be concerned in the genesis of prestige; among them success was always one of the most important.
Every successful man, every idea that forces itself into recognition, ceases, ipso facto, to be called in question. The proof that success is one of the principal stepping-stones to prestige is that the disappearance of the one is almost always followed by the disappearance of the other. The hero whom the crowd acclaimed yesterday is insulted to-day should he have been overtaken by failure. The re-action, indeed, will be the stronger in proportion as the prestige has been great. The crowd in this case considers the fallen hero as an equal, and takes its revenge for having bowed to a superiority whose existence it no longer admits.”
― Gustave Le Bon, سيكولوجية الجماهير

“Compare the luxuries with a neighbour to feel bad, compare the miseries with a neighbour to feel good.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“American society places tremendous importance upon egocentric behavior. Americans are encouraged to set ourselves apart from the group. Whereas in some societies it is an aberration to go against the whole, Americans celebrate the individual over the group. Public schools teach American grade school children that they are the captains of their destiny. American schools and society inculcate schoolchildren to measure their level of success in terms of individual accomplishments. A winner versus loser mentality prevails in American culture. Winners are the recipients of life’s economic awards. We are taught that possessing financial wherewithal will assist us attain exalted social status. Social status in turn allows select people to wield the power of influence. The silent audience consists of the economically deprived, the societal castaways whom we are taught to shun for lacking the temperament to succeed. A strong sense of self not only helps a person survive, but American society keeps score of a person’s economic victories and defeats. Americans measure the intrinsic value of our lives and recognize other people’s status principally in terms of each person’s relative economic resources.”
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls

“Americans need no strong sense of personal identity premised upon personal values or shared experiences. Many of us gladly traded in a moral and ethical characterization of self for an identity provided by our jobs and brand name consumer goods. We describe ourselves to new acquaintances by stating our vocations. We all know the class ranking system associated with our respective occupations. Whatever trendy neighborhood development we reside in establishes our social class. We are what we drive to work, what we do for a living, what exclusive clubs we belong as members, what teams we root for, and what artists we follow. Instead of working to develop a mature inward state of consciousness and expand their knowledge of the world, many Americans including me suffer from a juvenile tendency to define ourselves based upon our embodied social status. Americans promote their status by touting their jobs, the housing developments that we live in, and the designer clothes and sportswear that we clad ourselves.”
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls

“This time, there were things I'd be giving up forever. My visa to the Land of the Popular, for one thing, and probably even my return ticket to the Borderlands of Respectability.”
― Brent Hartinger, Geography Club

“Some people have impressive job titles and social status. As distracting as it may be, I'll never let that blind me from how they treat others. That's where character is revealed.”
― Steve Maraboli

“I was soon to discover just which group served as the bottom-most rung of the caravan’s social ladder.”
― Daniel Thorman, Chaos in the Caravan

“A moment. Did I mention it? Charles, perhaps finding that he was not much of a success with the lower middle classes, developed in middle life a habit of ennobling the friends who did the decent thing by him. One finds his record full of barons and comtes; the grain of salt is recommended.”
― Robin Hyde, Check to your king

“Leaders and disciples, queens and subjects, preachers and pupils - all these are a sign of a sectarian society, all these are a sign of a sick society. No queen, no subject - no leader, no disciple - in love all are one, one is all.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Making Britain Civilized: How to Gain Readmission to The Human Race

“In the past, Chinese women have to get married because they don't have economic independence. The only way to improve their social status is by getting married and having a child, or having lots of children. Chinese women now have a lot of economic independence. In fact, some are making more money than the males. We have recent reports saying that in many of the large cities, in fact, with regard to homebuyers, there are more young women than men buying homes these days. And some of those reflect that they have economic independence, but they also show that the marriage and fertility rates could be affected too if they're economically independent.”
― Insight 2021/2022 - Ep 30 China's Population Crisis

“This planet has never been the home of the human race, it has always been the home of the rich and privileged, while the rest of humanity slave their butt off, barely scraping by on hand-me-downs and leftovers.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Find A Cause Outside Yourself: Sermon of Sustainability

“There is not one, but two society. One is snobbish, narcissistic and judgmental to the bone. Another is too hungry to judge anyone. If we must serve, let us be servant to the society that nobody cares about, and to hell with the society that everybody tries to impress and wants to be a part of.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Ingan Impossible: Handbook of Hatebusting

“I've never understood the appeal of fur nor how it became such a status symbol. "Look at me and my financial ability to wear an animal carcass on my back! Huzzah!" Gross.”
― Crystal Cestari, The Best Kind of Magic

“In a world where we are often told that power can corrupt, it’s essential to understand that this narrative is frequently a tool used to maintain the status quo. The idea that seeking power is inherently immoral or dangerous is a misconception, often perpetuated by those who already hold power and fear its redistribution or challenge.”
― Kevin L. Michel, The 7 Laws of Quantum Power