Nobility could arise from recurring expectations rather than prior distinction
Evidence
It has been observed with regard to ancient clan organizations that a nobility would very frequently emerge when the head of the gens was always elected from the same lineage. That lineage was thus not preferred from the outset, but rather only came to be preferred once the expectation existed that it would always supply someone qualified for the leadership position. In that the entire family thereupon became a nobility, it discounted the merit and honor which any of its members would probably acquire someday and which, radiating back from the future, as it were, provided the ennobling substance for the whole lineage. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 508
Categorization
- XREF: Anticipated standing can itself confer status — echoes the reader’s interest in how categorization (Lofland) precedes and shapes trust, here applied to how a group’s future reputation retroactively ennobles its members. — connects to: The middle class is open at both boundaries while nobility is closed at both — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 485; Nobility’s prestige depends on cohesive circle boundaries being recognized. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 662; Traditions are mutable and contested rather than fixed and class-bound (+4 more)
Related
- Nobility’s prestige depends on cohesive circle boundaries being recognized. (similarity 0.87)
- Nobility remains endogamous to preserve unbroken transmitted substance (similarity 0.82)
- Nobility smelted individuals into the group while aiming at individual self-sufficiency (similarity 0.79)
- Nobility uniquely synthesized collective standardization with individual freedom (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Nobility’s prestige depends on cohesive circle boundaries being recognized.
#expands(0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 662 - Traditions are mutable and contested rather than fixed and class-bound
#contradicts(0.65)