To “be somebody” in today’s world requires accumulating significant amounts of capital, often across multiple criteria. Graduates of the most exclusive universities (educational capital) become friends with future leaders (social capital), embark on impressive careers (occupational capital), and make a lot of money (economic capital). This clustering is called status congruence, and it works to stabilize the status rankings. An individual’s minor achievement in one area may not lead to a significant jump up the ladder; a multifront effort is required to prove greater importance.
