This essay develops a number of ideas I've been exploring lately into a kind of unified theory of human hierarchies. This is some fairly high-level thinking about the mechanics behind how humans interact, there is no "get laid 300% more often with these five weird tricks (I had no idea broccoli could do #3)!". Much like the Red Pill itself, the knowledge IS the takeaway, and the specifics of practical usage of it in your own life is up to you.
STATION
Background
All social animals operate with a social hierarchy, a pecking order, which members innately understand and which forms the basis of interactions within the group. Human beings are no different and in fact our entire lives revolve around the concept of Station and improving our station within the group - often without consciously realising it because it's so deeply ingrained. It's the reason that we get embarrassed when we shit on a guy who asked a favour, only to later be revealed as a celebrity you didn't recognise. It exists in a layer above the primal drives to eat, fuck and sleep but is still itself a somewhat primal drive - for a long period of our evolution it was a matter of life and death: if the tribe doesn't accept you then you'll probably die (and you almost certainly aren't getting laid, which is just as bad genetically speaking). In modern society, of course, it's perfectly possible to live a life completely isolated from the social hierarchy if you so wished - but most people won't enjoy such an existence because of that primal need to socialise.
The concepts here are high-level and scale up and down hugely to the different strata of social groups - from a handful of individuals, your group of closest friends, right up to pretty much the entire species using the power of modern technology. In addition, each category spiders out into an infinite array of sub-categories, so in order to have a discussion at all it needs to be kept high-level. Use your judgement.
In terms of the Red Pill, it's my opinion that the Red Pill touches on the majority of these principles but does not look at them in pure, clear terms - there is of course a focus on their use in male-to-female sexual strategy and direct, applicable techniques usable for the majority of men. This is a step back from that to look at the wider picture, and applies to interactions between men and women but also men among other men and women with other women - although one of the most important basic drives (certainly so in the modern world where food and shelter aren't really a concern for most people), sex is only one element of the system.
The Hierarchy
Why "Station"? I think it's the most immediately-understood term for the concept. Every individual has a Station in the hierarchy, a position in the tree, from which they are expected to understand what is and is not accessible and permissible to them. We already use it conversationally in contexts like "that's above your station" or "improve your station". The President of the United States occupies one of the highest stations in the species, and he can have and do essentially anything he desires. The absolute lowest stations in the overall species are harder to identify because of the SJW trend to virtue-signal by glorifying victims.
However, Station is not the same as Status, because social Status is in fact a component part of the individual's Station. It's an element of it, and the most significant one in a system where elements feedback-loop into each other, but it does not solely define it.
There are four factors that drive Station: STATUS, Value and Power, factors attached to an individual person, all of which are relevant to and take place within a specific Environment. As you can deduce from that, each individual actually has an essentially infinite number of Stations because they occupy an infinite array of Environments at different layers - plus, of course, the Environments that they don't occupy.
It's hard to even choose a starting point since all factors feed into each other, but we'll start from what I theorise is the bottom and work up.
Value
Value is something that all humans innately understand, and it comes down to a basic concept: what can you as an individual offer the other individuals around you. This splits out into a thousand subcategories and could itself be discussed for a lifetime, but for the sake of argument, the highest-level division is into sexual value and social value.
Sexual value is the most obvious one, the driving factor behind male-female interactions. It's also the one thing that is innate to the individual and theoretically doesn't rely on other people being around to exist because it's genetic. Part of it is physical aesthetics: a pleasing face, body shape, build. Broad shouldered muscular men of age circa 26-30; wide-hipped and full-breasted young women. But Game/Frame is also part of sexual value, (theoretically) indicating your genetic propensity for skill at social interactions, something that is desirable for offspring. Men tend to value aesthetics, and women tend to value Game, although both are important to both genders to varying degrees. The PUA community preaches men improving sexual success by practicing Game, demonstrating a man with genetics for good social skills. Women are experienced in improving aesthetics to increase sexual success, with the use of makeup, push-up bras, high heels and so on (sadly there is no encouragement for women to improve their Girl Game and in Western society it seems to decrease with every passing year). TRP preaches men improving Game, but also improving their aesthetics, to create an overall more valuable proposition and therefore one more desirable to women. There are some other factors, such as the exotic genes element and novelty value, but this is the entire SMV system in a nutshell and most humans understand the hierarchy exists.
Social value is the other component, and the most obvious standalone example that springs to mind is entertainment. Within a small social group, the funny guy gets to hang around with others who are otherwise above his sexual value; on a global stage, Hollywood actors are widely idolised. Now with modern technology, on Facebook and YouTube the guy who makes amusing videos initially gets a few likes from his friends which eventually may snowball into millions of followers and him making a living from the ad revenue - never needing to get a normal job at all. Or think a successful film director, who creates a movie that is entertaining to watch - that's base Value. This snowballs out into wider appreciation: film festivals, then the attention of Hollywood execs, the opportunity to make films with famous actors, and so on.
Providing an important service, such as running a local business, also provides Value but potentially with much less spill over into the other categories. The corner-shop owner provides Value by way of products that you wish to buy, and technically has Power in his ability to deny you the purchase and therefore Status over you in his specific Environment of the corner-shop, but most people don't give a shit about him.
It is the unpalatable truth that amongst humans it seems that men's social Value appears to be more "valid" than that generated by women. It is the great trade-off in exchange for women being born with more sexual Value: men have the opportunity to build their own, and successful men can build it far higher. If a man seeks to improve his Station in his current Environment, providing social Value to men is the most basic building block to start with. Providing Value to women is better than nothing at all, but neither men nor women respect it as much as something that men value.
There's also social value from reflections of the other categories - being able to associate with high-station individuals creates a chain of value within lower Environments to be utilised. Picture the bar that was the preferred drinking hole of a Hollywood actor before he was famous, and now has a picture on the wall of him hugging the bar owner. The bar owner now has improved his Station with some reflected Status in addition to his existing Status/Value/Power as a bar owner, and people may now choose to associate with him in order to improve their own Station, by way of a chance at leveraging some of the reflected Station of the actor. Wheels within wheels.
Value begets Power, by virtue of the threat of ceasing to provide that Value. That creates Status and, all together within a specific Environment: a Station.
Power
Power likewise divides into two main categories: physical power and social power.
Physical power is essentially the threat of violence and is meant in the direct, person-to-person sense. The ability for another individual to cause you physical harm, here and now and with no assistance from any other person, gives him a basic power over you. Men generally have physical power over women. Large muscular men have physical power over small,weak men. Both male and female adults have physical power over young children.
Social power is more complex with infinite facets. The most obvious manifestation is money. With enough money on the table, most people will do almost anything you want. Money itself creates a social hierarchy - they'll do those unspeakable acts purely because the money gives them an immediate step up above their neighbours.
Another side of social power is Machiavellian manipulation - playing people off against each other, or pulling their strings through understanding their own drives and exploiting them.
Power over others begets Status, since you hold their fate in your hands; and therefore Value - since others can profit by associating with you. Their own Station improves since others perceive they have the ear of a powerful person; their own Status, Power and Value improve in the same WAY as yours but in an environment BELOW yours. Notice how once again the reflections of the other categories loop into each other.
Status
Status is, in theory, the primary driver of Station - but it's a factor of Power and Value and can't really be achieved in its own sense without going through one of those two factors. If anything, Status within an Environment is frequently a manifestation of your Power and Value in a higher Environment.
An example that springs to mind is the Royal Birth scenario - Status is attained by arriving into an environment with a pre-existing association with high-Station individuals. This can be literally by birth - a newborn infant Prince has Status over most individuals in the world by virtue of his parents (to whom he has great Value), even though he himself has no direct Value or Power to the wider Environment. Or, it can be in the metaphorical sense - the nerd who helps a desperate Chad study for the history test, who is deeply grateful and introduces him to his frat buddies as a cool guy: the frat buddies are a new Environment that the nerd is brought into with pre-existing Status due to his association with Chad (to whom he has great Value). The frat has Status on campus, and suddenly the nerd has the attention of women at parties.
A guy working as a waiter in a restaurant serves a Hollywood director. The director likes something about this guy, he spots Value in him, and invites him to act a part in his new movie. On set, the waiter's Value to the director gives him Status over the catering crew and the extras - but not over the lead actors. The movie is released worldwide and provides entertainment Value to millions of people, exposing the waiter to a wider Environment and giving him Status within it. His Station has skyrocketed, and so the waiter can now walk into a private party hosted by any one of those millions of people and have Status over the entire room. A year previously, they would have called the cops. The waiter is exactly the same guy, but his Value to a high-Station individual puts his Status through the roof in lesser Environments.
Status begets Value to people in lesser Environments - your Status itself is valuable to them as it's their opportunity to increase their own Station - and therefore Power over them, since you control whether you will or will not provide them that Value by associating with them.
Environment
Environment is the final and, in my opinion, the most important factor because it defines the sphere of influence - the number of other humans to which you are being compared and ranked. At the smallest scale, for example, your family unit, or your close group of friends. At the mid-scale, picture the owner of a club or other popular business; at the top end, you have people known by most of the species - the Presidents of the major nations, the celebrities, and so on.
However, Environment doesn't just mean social environment but also the physical one. If Obama found himself teleported to the Moon in the middle of an EVA mission with no spacesuit, he'd be totally at the mercy of the individuals around him - his Status would carry over from the species-level environment, but (ignoring the reflections) his innate Value and Power in this environment is minimal, only slightly above the level that any other randomly selected human would have. He is totally reliant on the Moon mission team for his survival and has to rely on his Status as an important human to carry over and compel another astronaut to act to save his life - which itself would be an attempt to improve the astronaut's own Station: the man who saved the President has him in his debt, allowing him to leverage the President's Status and Power for his own benefit. He could probably ask favours of him, and can bask in reflected glory even at a local dive bar. In addition, the astronaut's Environment would expand - on a direct level he'll probably be invited to a few more White House parties, and on an indirect level he'll gain notoriety with the news coverage of the story - even more than he would have had before, after all, astronauts already have a high Station from their career choice and success in it.
You can be the most inherently Valuable person on the planet, with absolutely flawless aesthetics and Game - but if your Environment is living a life of solitude in a basement or a remote cabin, then nobody knows about it and your Station is nonexistent. If that same guy walks into a bar for the first time, introducing himself to a new wider Environment, he can have the attention of everybody in the room. If he walks into a model agency, he can have the attention of the whole civilised world. Environment is everything; it's the multiplier of the other three factors - and this includes a multiplier of zero.
Improving Station
The practical element of this, then, is what all humans crave: how to improve your Station in life. Based on the multiplier logic above, it's clear that Environment is the element that unlocks everything else. Either you stick within your specific Environment and attempt to increase Status within it by increasing your Value, Power or both - or you get yourself exposed to a different Environment where you may have carry-over Status, higher inherent Value or Power, or a combination of all three.
The provision of Value is the only way to actually build your Station.
Power increases your Station too, but it's less satisfying - it's controlling others, against their will, rather than winning them and their will. However, in almost every case you can substitute "provide Value to" with "attain Power over".
You can attain higher Status or Power by choosing lesser Environments, but it generates no deep level satisfaction because you don't respect the people in that Environment - they're below your Station. It's mostly Power and it's less satisfying because it's a negative rather than a positive. Picture the grown man walking into a daycare and lording it over the kids. He may enjoy the power trip momentarily, but it's hollow. Too easy. Perhaps the same for the waiter who made it in Hollywood in the earlier example - the sweet girl at the party who's now batting eyes at him that wouldn't have looked twice when he was waiting tables might be a momentarily fun conquest, but it's too easy - he's probably going to be lusting after his co-star Scarlett Johannson, who is now a realistically attainable possibility as they share an Environment, even if Scarlett has a similar sexual Value as the girl at the party.
TRP advocates building sexual Value by way of improving physique and Game and this is an effective route to improving Station, but it's only an element of it. The Station model would strongly suggest the following routes are possibilities:
- Either provide higher Value to your current Environment; (the TRP and to a lesser extent PUA strategy)
- Or, actively provide Value to a higher Environment; (thus accessing that wider Environment and enjoying a spillover Status boost into your current one - the funny guy who starts posting Facebook videos and seeing a global audience grow)
- Or, switch to a parallel Environment where your innate Value is higher. (The hot shut-in girl who makes an online dating profile; the foreign guy who goes into a bar in a small town and strikes up a conversation with local women)
While these examples specifically refer to male-female sexual interactions as they're easiest to comprehend because sex is the primary motivator, they also apply to same-sex purely social interactions.
It's clear that of those three routes, the easiest route to success is the parallel Environment switch - all you have to do is move. An individual who's worthless in his current environment, is somewhere between priceless and worthless in a different one - so if he wishes to improve his Station, he should pinpoint which Environments he likely contains innate Value to (and which provide access to things he desires, like women, or men he wishes to use to climb socially), and switch to them. This could be as simple as leaving his current friendship group for a new one that hasn't heard his jokes before. It could be leaving his burger-flipping job in favour of an IT career at which he is naturally gifted. Or it could be as drastic as leaving the country of his birth in favour of one where his nationality is exotic and interesting - his genes are valuable. If you've never tried the Environment-switch, do it - the overnight increase in Station is intoxicating and addictive.
The middle route is to increase your Value within (or Power over) your existing Environment. This takes knowledge, skill and effort to actively improve beyond the hand that fate has dealt you. TRP talks at length about these matters and it's widely understood precisely how to improve. Improve aesthetics and Game, or produce something that other people desire, or just be really rich and pay everyone to do exactly what you want.
The hardest route, but the one with the biggest potential pay-off, is providing Value to a higher Environment. Station can skyrocket because of the multiplier effect. Some people may be lucky and actually already possess something Valued by higher Environments and they merely need to expose themselves to it, deliberately or by accident - the aesthetically perfect man who signs up to a modelling agency, the charming waiter who serves a meal to Quentin Tarantino. Most are not lucky and have to work to provide that Value to the higher Environment, but who can then enjoy the pay-off of a Station that enables socialising with other the members of that group, and the improved Status that entails when they return to their natural habitat of lower Environments - the family catering company who secures a film set contract, the taxi driver who strikes up a friendship with a rockstar. In a Power sense, the paparazzi who snaps a compromising photo of a politician.
Losing Station
As social animals, a loss of Station can be a traumatising experience - our brains are evolved for that tribal society where Station was life and death, and haven't caught up with the modern reality that you can quite plausibly live a long life alone a basement on a diet of canned food delivered by mail. The most obvious cases are in women, what TRP calls The Wall, where their increasing age makes them less and less sexually desirable and they eventually come to realise that they experienced an easy life in their youth due to an inherent high Value - that life is not actually and normally like that and they can never return to it. It's less common in men because their Value is more commonly something that is built and not gifted, but the obvious example would be the football jock who loses his Alpha traits with complacency over time and eventually gets cheated on and divorced, never really understanding why; or the trust fund baby whose wealth disappears.
The Red Pill readership will likely be more resilient to Station loss than the majority of people, since their presence suggests a builder of Value rather than a birth into it. In addition, it's a reflection of a mind that seeks conscious understanding of the mechanisms behind social interactions, and understanding cannot be lost once it is gained. Once unplugged you can never go back.
Conclusions
What you do with this knowledge is up to you, but most people seek a method to improving their Station in life. Environment is the lock, Value is the key: either pick the lock of the door you want to open, or find a lock that you already have the key to.
The infinite subcategories that everything spiders out into can be debated till the end of time.
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