Analysis Of Social Anxiety As A Product Of Modern Society

Social Anxiety as a Product of Modern Society In Alain de Botton’s book Social Anxiety and the chapter “Equality, Expectation, and Envy,” Botton elaborates on some of the causes and effects of social anxiety in both the modern world and in history. Alain de Botton claims that we, as a modern western civilization, will never be contempt with what we have; and we will always strive to have more, which causes much of the status anxiety seen today. Botton explains that within the past 2000 years there has been a rise in the standard of living which has caused people not to be content with who they are or what they have (25). This feeling of not being content with what we have causes people to always strive for more. As a consequence of this …show more content…
These ideals of “anyone can do anything” cause people to believe that it is possible to equal a person, no matter where you are, which simply is not true (Button 27). The idea of equal access to opportunity hasn’t been around forever. Other civilizations throughout history, such as the Greeks and Romans embraced inequality. People in these ancient civilizations believe that some, by nature, are free and that others aren’t (Button 28). John of Salisbury states in his Policraticus that inequality is natural and all should accept it as that (Button 30). Because of this belief in natural inequality, ancient civilizations did not have the problems of status anxiety that we are experiencing today. Egalitarian ideas developed in politics around the seventeenth century. These egalitarian ideas were showcased as the government began to grant power to the people, started serving in the interest of the people instead of just their leader, and by giving these individuals the opportunity to reject a leader (Botton 30-31). These egalitarian ideas commenced the hunger for more power and wealth and produced status anxiety within the …show more content…
Other changes of the late 1700s such as equality among heirs to property rights is established, as well as all people being seen equal before the law (Botton 31). The idea of “Theoretical Equality” caused Americans to become less content with what they have and less accepting of past prosperity. This theoretical equality is caused by the increasingly higher standard of living in America (Botton 33). The media aided the rise of the standard of living. Americans tend to always be searching for more than what they have, even the fortunate ones. They also seem to suffer when someone they know has something they don’t have. Another factor of people’s status anxiety is faith in an afterlife. People who believe in an afterlife are proven to be more content with what they have. This is because they believe that the success in this life is temporary. On the contrary, people who do not believe in an afterlife are typically less content with what they have in life. This is because they believe this is the only life they have and they need to make the most out of it while they are here (Botton