This is closer to the mark, but I still assert that the sacrifice is not a positive contributor to the appeal.
If you take two roles with equal power, equal authority, equal recognition as ‘official’ and equal reliance on physical prowess then the one that requires the least sacrifice will be the most attractive. Having to give up resources to get your power is a strict negative in the signal it sends.
This is obviously not related to what those in a given high status role will say or even believe about the appeal of their station (and the dictator at the top says he’s only doing things for the greater good too.)
Sacrifice is something that you (the hypothetical aspirant for power and status) convince others is the right thing to do, that you declare sincerely is the way to success but you never actually do yourself if you can avoid it. It is far more efficient and effective to simply declare that you have made sacrifice and implicitly threaten physical or social punishment for anyone who questions your word. Observers will be attracted both to the obvious lack of sacrifice that you have to make and to your ability to have other people go along with your make believe. (This process is best left unconscious. Acknowledging it explicitly is so banal.)
This is closer to the mark, but I still assert that the sacrifice is not a positive contributor to the appeal.
It’s not the sacrifice, it’s the willingness to sacrifice, that thereby demonstrates commitment—that one is capable of protecting and providing for one’s partners.
This is a distinct and separate measure from the amount of resources one has control or influence over. If you have a lot of resources, but are stingy, then you might actually be less suitable than if you had few resources but were willing to risk them all on something you believe in… as long as your potential mate believes they can get you to believe in them.
This is closer to the mark, but I still assert that the sacrifice is not a positive contributor to the appeal.
If you take two roles with equal power, equal authority, equal recognition as ‘official’ and equal reliance on physical prowess then the one that requires the least sacrifice will be the most attractive. Having to give up resources to get your power is a strict negative in the signal it sends.
This is obviously not related to what those in a given high status role will say or even believe about the appeal of their station (and the dictator at the top says he’s only doing things for the greater good too.)
Sacrifice is something that you (the hypothetical aspirant for power and status) convince others is the right thing to do, that you declare sincerely is the way to success but you never actually do yourself if you can avoid it. It is far more efficient and effective to simply declare that you have made sacrifice and implicitly threaten physical or social punishment for anyone who questions your word. Observers will be attracted both to the obvious lack of sacrifice that you have to make and to your ability to have other people go along with your make believe. (This process is best left unconscious. Acknowledging it explicitly is so banal.)
It’s not the sacrifice, it’s the willingness to sacrifice, that thereby demonstrates commitment—that one is capable of protecting and providing for one’s partners.
This is a distinct and separate measure from the amount of resources one has control or influence over. If you have a lot of resources, but are stingy, then you might actually be less suitable than if you had few resources but were willing to risk them all on something you believe in… as long as your potential mate believes they can get you to believe in them.