Escaping society through withdrawal itself creates higher status

Evidence

We should therefore abandon the fantasy of pursuing identities that transcend status. Even those who drop out of society to pursue an ascetic, solitary life end up with a status. And thanks to the principle of detachment, withdrawal often becomes an effective path toward higher social position. The sociologist Thomas Frank writes, “Today there are few things more beloved of our mass media than the figure of the cultural rebel, the defiant individualist resisting the mandates of the machine civilization.” There is also great esteem for dedicated and disciplined individuals who devote themselves to rectitude, salvation, and harmony with the universe. Beatitude begets glory, and glory begets status. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 297

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the ascetic-mystic status dynamics in Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the hermit/renunciant prestige paradox; also recalls one of the chapter’s own claims being paid off. — connects to: Even ascetic withdrawal from society yields status to the detached — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 297; Withdrawal only matters if its lessons are carried back to society — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the…, 213; Emancipation from society weakens rather than empowers the individual — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia: Reflections from…, 169 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Even ascetic withdrawal from society yields status to the detached #expands (0.95) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 297
• Withdrawal only matters if its lessons are carried back to society #qualifies (0.80) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 213
• Emancipation from society weakens rather than empowers the individual #complicates (0.75) — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia, 169
• The Great Resignation produced individual exit rather than collective worker power #exemplifies (0.72) — Anton Jäger, Hyperpolitics, 102