It seems to me that in an analysis like this, some distinction should be drawn between people you expect to interact with in the future (people who’s status matters) and strangers. People ignore others in cities all the time, and I think the I’ll-never-see-you-again hypothesis explains it more simply than the you-have-no-power-over-me hypothesis.
The reason you may want to interact with someone in the future is because they proved to have something you want i.e. some power over you. The distinction you make does not account for how the status was initially determined between the interacting parties.
It seems to me that in an analysis like this, some distinction should be drawn between people you expect to interact with in the future (people who’s status matters) and strangers. People ignore others in cities all the time, and I think the I’ll-never-see-you-again hypothesis explains it more simply than the you-have-no-power-over-me hypothesis.
The reason you may want to interact with someone in the future is because they proved to have something you want i.e. some power over you. The distinction you make does not account for how the status was initially determined between the interacting parties.