Hidden Forces

Our collective psyche is representative of the social forces that surround us. A social force is an agent that shapes and controls our behavior. For example, the fear of law-enforcers is a social force. It keeps us from over-speeding and running red lights. Do you really think that other person in that black uniform has any super powers? No. Certainly not. These social forces are embedded in our psyche for higher purposes that are hidden from the naked eye. Aside from their ostensible benefit, social forces often play a crucial role in economics, politics, and other areas.

One social force is fame. The celebrity status. Do you see how powerful that is? We tend to look only at the benefits the celebrity gets out of it. We don't see the flip side. We think of Bill Gates and his billions, but we forget how many jobs his company creates and how it shapes the future to come.
Even if Bill Gates' company drowns tomorrow, it will leave behind it a wealth of technologies and precedents.

Another social force is beauty. Yes, I am talking about the looks. If you looked at it closely, you'll see the wonders of this social force. We still don't have a quantitative measure of attraction, but we all feel it when we experience it. Beauty polarizes the society. It puts more value on one side than the other.

We are not discussing if its fair or not. We are just analyzing what it does.

People love to see pretty faces. They love watching them on the TV or in the movies. What does this do? It creates a force. It creates a demand. What does Hollywood do with this demand? Behind the scenes, entrepreneurs convert this demand into lucrative transactions. Look at how much economy it creates. The filming crew, the marketers, the advertising agencies, the newspapers, the telecom industry, and not to forget, the pretty faces themselves, get benefit from this demand.

We are surrounded by such social forces all the time.