Status = Power = Wealth + Beauty - Education?

We judge people according to their social status and power, their socioeconomic "class", if you will, everyday. These are the very first things we evaluate and critique when we are introduced to a new person.

What is their status, their power in society? What is their level of wealth and physical appeal? How much are they worth? Are they beautiful and handsome?

Status and power are synonymous. They are the all-important symbols in society. They are the quintessential defining factors for how we treat people.

Status and power also form the bases from which we make social comparisons. We want to know not only who earns more money, which mansions, how many swimming pools, how many and which vehicle, is it a name brand, is it a newer model, and are they physically attractive? But we also want to know whether we measure up (or down) with respect to them. E.g., does s/he earn more than me? Is s/he more attractive than me?

Why is status so important? Why do we treat people who have higher status with more respect, deference, and concern than we treat others?

E.g., when a person of wealth like Donald Trump complains, we all listen. We attribute more significance and weight to his words than say, an average run-of-the-mill working class fellow.

Is it because we are intimidated by the power of those with higher status?

Certainly, there is a power differential when it comes to those possessing high social status and those who do not. Someone with high social status has more clout, standing, and power to provoke action because s/he can afford monetarily to do so. For instance, s/he can threaten people with legal action. S/he can take that "little guy" to the cleaners.

Interestingly, if you consider the people of high status in society today, you will notice that the level of education has dropped in priority when we assess a person's status.

Rich Karlgaard even wrote in Forbes that a college degree might be a poor investment because tuition keeps rising while the credentials for high-paying jobs decreases. He asserted, "My prediction is that parents who risk their own financial security shelling out $100,000 to $175,000 for a four-year degree will lose, too."1

No longer do they have to earn a 4-year college degree from a prestigious university. Take Bill Gates for example. He dropped out of Harvard, yet became a phenomenomal success. Michael Dell and Larry Ellison are other examples within the technology field.

In fact, many don't attend college. E.g., oil billionaire John D. Rockefeller, NBC mogul David Sarnoff, and Ted Turner.

Some don't even finish high school. For instance, countless celebrities like Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Paris Hilton drop out. Paris Hilton is often quoted about college, "I don't feel it's necessary for me, for what I want to do. I just think me wasting four years. I'm just pulling myself back."2 Yet all of these people command power and deference in society, and are equated with high status.

Today, being well-educated is no longer a requirement for a higher social status. Wealth and beauty far supercede education in the "Must-Have" list to the boys and girls Gold Club of high socioeconomic status and power.

1. http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0327/039.html

2. http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-12-01-paris-interview_x.htm