Mother Jones today has an excellent story on Arlie Russell Hochschild’s book “Stolen Pride.” This quote in particular:

“We live in both a material economy and a pride economy, and while we pay close attention to shifts in the material economy, we often neglect or underestimate the importance of the pride economy. Just as the fortunes of Appalachian Kentucky have risen and fallen with the fate of coal, so has its standing in the pride economy…https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/09/jd-vance-arlie-russell-hochschild-hillbilly-elegy-stolen-pride-excerpt/

So close! What’s she’s describing is status. Rank in the community, real or perceived. Will Storr wrote an excellent book about it, “The Status Game” that I highly recommend. (My local library had it.)

The MJ story is excellent and well worth your time. The Storr book is longer; this review might help you decide if you’d find it worthwhile.