Who Cares What Other People Think?

Who Cares What Other People Think?


He does too.





So I'm reading through Hodgskin's "An Essay on naval Discipline" and within the first few chapters he discusses what exactly "Fame" is. He defines it as a pursuit of the praise of other to such an extent that the recipient of that praise becomes conscious of his superiority of others and, because man is naturally disposed to seek praise, it is one of the principle motivators of people to action.



Adam Smith in his "Theory of Moral Sentiments" stated similar ideas and given the two thinker's close proximity to each other in time and theory (Hodgkins was a follower of Ricardo whose ideas on the Labour Theory of Value) are often lumped together with Smith's, although there are distinctions).



I can easily think of many Americans who have that mentality of "Keeping up with the Joneses" which so influenced the song "Grand Illusion" by Styx,



"Welcome to the Grand illusion
Come on in and see what's happening
Pay the price, get your tickets for the show
The stage is set, the band starts playing
Suddenly your heart is pounding
Wishing secretly you were a star.



But don't be fooled by the radio
The TV or the magazines
They show you photographs of how your life should be
But they're just someone else's fantasy
So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because you never win the game
Just remember that it's a Grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same.
We're all the same...



So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because your neighbours got it made
Just remember that it's a Grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same.
We're all the same...



America spells competition, join us in our blind ambition
Get yourself a brand new motor car
Someday soon we'll stop to ponder what on Earth's this spell we're under
We made the grade and still we wonder who the hell we are."



Sometimes, capitalism is criticised for inspiring a pursuit of wealth with little to no self reflection, an obsession with the material that takes hold of our lives and destroys social solidarity and leaves the great majority of us feeling unfulfilled and left behind.



But, by my observation, it is instead the pursuit of the praise and admiration of our fellows that we seek material wealth so vehemently, only to squander it on things we would be perfectly happy without (as long as the Joneses didn't get one).



Why then do human beings seek praise so much? The raw pursuit of admiration doesn't seem to have any immediate benefit to either the individual or collective (particularly when that admiration is derived exclusively from the acquisition of material wealth and the squander thereof). Sacred cows, unholy pigs, love of pigs, the obnoxiously fierce concept of masculinity; all of these can be at least partially explained by what might be called materialistic theories but I cannot see a materialist reason for the rise of our obsession with each other's praise (besides the basic need of humans to work together, which can be solved much more easily than a devotion to spending and wasting more than anyone else).

Marvin Harris, one of the leading anthropologists in America argues in his book "Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches" that all human culture stems originally from some concrete place or need. For instance, those societies that would need some sort of redistribution of wealth, but do not have the appropriate social structure to maintain it, may have some sort of a potlatch. During this the individual gives away as much food as possible, for the perceived reason of making everybody love him. The answer is evolutionary in nature; those societies full of affable people willing to give food away and receive love will survive while those that aren't will not.

While I accept Harris's solution for the Native Americans who practice the potlatch, I'm not sure how well it applies to modern America. Perhaps it is simply left-over from before, when a voluntary redistribution of wealth was more necessary (though I would argue it is very necessary now). The problem is that our pursuit of admiration doesn't always lead us towards altruistic pursuits but often selfish ones (Is this because of the "invisible hand, Mr. Smith?).

This question is one that has always peeked my interest and my own emotions as I, like anyone, pursue the good opinion of my peers. I will no doubt consider to ponder this question, but for now I am left in mystery as to the origin of our obsession with proving ourselves worthy of extravagance. I only know that for our society to advance into a more equal, free, and voluntary form we must overcome it.