Episode · EconTalk · 2025-10-06
Books mentioned on The Invisible Hierarchies that Rule Our World (with Toby Stuart)
Status isn't fixed; it's transferred and "bestowed," shaping who gets resources, attention, and opportunity. So argues author Toby Stuart of UC Berkeley in his book, Anointed.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Leviathan
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is a foundational political treatise that argues for a strong, centralized authority to prevent the chaos, violence, and insecurity of the natural state of man.
Discussed“So um one is you know and let's go all the way back to you know Leviathan which we both probably read in in in graduate school but but but no one likes man in in in the state of n in his state of nature without so some sort of social organization”
Where to get it
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Anointed
Discussed“See, but the idea of anointed, excuse me, but the idea of anointed is uh there's a lot of that laying around influencing me in ways that I probably don't realize.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (7) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Own book Anointed
“Our topic for today is his book Anointed, the extraordinary effects of social status in a winner takemost world. Toby, welcome to Econ Talk.”
Own book Anointed
“Um in the modern world, you know, the book argues it does a whole lot more than that. Um and you know, the the other kind of main functions of the status hierarchy is one, it helps us resolve uncertainty and judgment.”
Own book Anointed
“I mean so there are these products where and you know weirdly there are products where there you know I sort of get into this a little bit in the book but like if you're a social scientist you you just wouldn't expect status dynamics there”
Own book Anointed
“And and in fact I you know a central central point in the book is that the reason we have the status system is functional like we have we have a curatorial problem right and we just talked about art”
Own book Anointed
“And so I started to like chase down Michishel and starred chefs cuz that that was just for me that was there the book there's a there's a hundred examples of stuff in the book and you know and they're like the ones I found interesting or fun as I was writing it.”
Own book Anointed
“So, so in the in the book, you know, I I I I argue there's like three and a half sources of status. The one, you know, that that we're talking about with expertise.”
Own book Anointed
“my guest today has been Toby Stewart his book is anointed”