Status is our pecking order in the social hierarchy. Status is important in understanding how ideas spread and how culture, trends, and fashions come and go.

In Status and Culture, David Marx makes various points:

• Status and the desire to improve our status is integral to human nature.

• Ideas spread (in general) from high-status to low-status.

• That status underpins concepts like the Diffusion of Innovation.

• That there are statuses between groups: e.g. blue collar vs white collar work.

• There is a status system inside of groups. e.g. Boss vs Worker.

I tend to agree with Marx’s point. I’ve found that other ideas of “how ideas spread” lean on examples prone to Survivorship Bias.

Sources:

• Status and Culture (book), David Marx