# Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change - Hardcover

by **W. David Marx** (Author)

**"Subtly altered how I see the world." --Michelle Goldberg, _New York Times_**

"\[_Status and Culture_\] consistently posits theories I'd never previously considered that instantly feel obvious." --Chuck Klosterman, author of _The Nineties_

"Why are you the way that you are? _Status and Culture_ explains nearly everything about the things you choose to be--and how the society we live in takes shape in the process." --B.J. Novak, writer and actor

Solving the long-standing mysteries of culture--from the origin of our tastes and identities, to the perpetual cycles of fashions and fads--through a careful exploration of the fundamental human desire for status

All humans share a need to secure their social standing, and this universal motivation structures our behavior, forms our tastes, determines how we live, and ultimately shapes who we are. We can use status, then, to explain why some things become "cool," how stylistic innovations arise, and why there are constant changes in clothing, music, food, sports, slang, travel, hairstyles, and even dog breeds.

In _Status and Culture_, W. David Marx weaves together the wisdom from history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, cultural theory, literary theory, art history, media studies, and neuroscience to demonstrate exactly how individual status seeking creates our cultural ecosystem. Marx examines three fundamental questions: Why do individuals cluster around arbitrary behaviors and take deep meaning from them? How do distinct styles, conventions, and sensibilities emerge? Why do we change behaviors over time and why do some behaviors stick around? The answers then provide new perspectives for understanding the seeming "weightlessness" of internet culture.

_Status and Culture_ is a book that will appeal to business people, students, creators, and anyone who has ever wondered why things become popular, why their own preferences change over time, and how identity plays out in contemporary society. Readers of this book will walk away with deep and lasting knowledge of the often secret rules of how culture really works.

### Author Biography

**W. David Marx** is a longtime writer on culture based in Tokyo and the author of _Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style_. His work has appeared in _The New Yorker_, _Lapham's Quarterly_, _Popeye_, _The New Republic_, and _Vox_.

**Number of Pages:** 368

**Dimensions:** 1.4 x 8.9 x 5.9 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** September 06, 2022

## Details

- **Price:** 30.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 30.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/status-and-culture-how-our-desire-for-social-rank-creates-taste-identity-art-fashion-and-constant-change-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-23