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> instability is hell for high status individuals

I feel like this explains a lot about how power structures fight so hard to stay in power--they're biologically wired to suffer more when they lose out than those at the bottom.

This is both something "everyone knows" and refreshing to finally see put in print.

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Beyond that, the gratification from accomplishing something is short-lived. If your last book sold a million copies and your new book only sells 500k, you may feel like a failure even though 500k is a lot of books. In some ways, success only adds to the pressure to keep succeeding. This isn't to say you shouldn't try to succeed, but it certainly explains why so many famous or successful people deal with problems like depression and drug addiction.

It also conveys a benefit to those of low status.

High-status individuals' job is to produce stability.

Read Chimpanzee Politics; it will completely change the way you see human interaction and power.

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