Chapter by chapter what this book tells you is that high status and the paraphernalia of success are not only incapable of making you happy but are luxuries enjoyed only by the few. From birth we are spoon fed the ideals that one day we will have a successful job, an ideal partner and all the respect and deference that we deserve. However, not only is out career success empty, it is also perilous, as most of us live in a state of dependence on those who employ us, and they in turn rely on the demand of the market. Realistically there are few people for whom these high expectations ever come true and it is this, combined with a lack of genuine love and a deep-rooted loneliness, which makes us truly miserable.
One of the causes of anxiety, de Botton says, is our meritocratic society. Though commendable in its premise the meritocratic society, while allowing the able to succeed, brings with it the implication that those who do not succeed are inept. This assumption, and the subsequent disdain by the successful for the poor, leads many in difficult circumstances to believe themselves to be deserving of their low status. This revelation is a real wake up call for those who believe that our society promotes equality. In reality we are a far cry from living in a state where social mobility is possible.
With the problem established the second half of the book looks at the ways of combating status anxiety, covering everything from bohemia to Christianity, and it is this section of the book that really strikes at brilliance. De Botton’s analysis of art, politics and a disdainful bohemian lifestyle not only serves to ridicule the snobbery of the “successful” but also highlights that there is more to life than conforming to the commonly held ideas of status. Success is not necessarily synonymous with happiness and high status in society does not equate to morality and godliness.
Using insightful political and social examples from history across the world de Botton successfully offers a new view without padding out the information with empty phrases and vapid self-help ideas. More than this de Botton’s book is a truly refreshing look at the world of success. In a time when people are struggling to reach the goals they have set for themselves it’s time to take a step back and really re-evaluate what is truly important. De Botton totally undercuts our society’s preoccupation with wealth and possessions, revealing its transient characteristics. To read this book is not to be lost in hard psychological theory or political debate, it is to hear someone talking sense and to gain a new outlook on the goals we set for ourselves and the hand that life has dealt us.
