21 December

When humans gather together in groups of any size, they play status games. First within the group itself, for status within the group. Then between groups. Paradoxically (for many) this means that the more we ‘connect’ societies, the more violent they will become. Social media is a connection technology, and now pretty much runs societies. It’s why they’re increasingly tribalised and violent, with a proliferation of groups battling each other for status. And it means no matter what you try to do now, simple stuff like upgrading the electricity supply or upgrading transport with more modern technology, a bewildering array of groups will appear to oppose it. Humans live for their status. Their status is their identity. They get that from the membership of their groups, and their identity feels threatened when their group is threatened by other groups. I obviously spend a lot of time observing this with cars, but you can look anywhere. I can look at the car a person drives and usually guess almost exactly what their views are on most things. Their car is often central to their chosen group(s) and their identities.