Worldwork 2014
Rank is earned and unearned. It comes from the situation you were born into, like being supported by parents, the country you were born into the economic situation and so on. Earned rank comes from things you have worked for: education, professional or personal accomplishments.
Rank is related to power.
There are different kinds of rank:
- Social rank – Some rank is based on socially recognized sources, like race, gender, religion , sexual orientation, economic status, nationality, education and so on.
- Contextual Rank – this is rank related to jobs, a person’s standing in an organization, family. The rank you feel in your job may be different from the rank you feel in your family.
- Psychological Rank – another kind of rank comes from comes from having gone through different kinds of personal struggles. Having gone through life’s struggles gives a kind of rank that is earned through surviving them.
- Spiritual Rank – rank that comes from a connection to a higher being, spirit, God or Goddess. This connection can be more dear than life itself. This gives a kind of power and access to inner resources.
Rank is often unconscious. We are not aware of our rank or the effects of it when we have it. We need others to help us know about our rank, especially rank that is not social rank. When we are not aware of and able to use our rank we are in danger of abusing it.
This topic is a good marriage with economics because having money is one of the ways that we gain rank in the world.
Tags: ranks, Worldwork