That sounds exactly like what I was saying: the reason insiders don’t criticise other insiders isn’t because it reduces their status by association. It’s that other insiders don’t like it, and they want to stay insiders.
Cool, yes, I agree. But the reason other insiders don’t like that public criticism is because it reduces their status by association. Your colleagues paid to get a position in a status hierarchy which you are devaluing, and they make you internalize those costs.
Ok, yes that makes a lot more sense—whilst tarnishing by association increases incentives to point out flaws in your friend, it decreases incentives to point out flaws in your friend’s friend.
And since most of your friends are also your friends’ friends, the aggregate impact is to decrease incentives to point out flaws in your friends as well.
That sounds exactly like what I was saying: the reason insiders don’t criticise other insiders isn’t because it reduces their status by association. It’s that other insiders don’t like it, and they want to stay insiders.
Cool, yes, I agree. But the reason other insiders don’t like that public criticism is because it reduces their status by association. Your colleagues paid to get a position in a status hierarchy which you are devaluing, and they make you internalize those costs.
Ok, yes that makes a lot more sense—whilst tarnishing by association increases incentives to point out flaws in your friend, it decreases incentives to point out flaws in your friend’s friend.
And since most of your friends are also your friends’ friends, the aggregate impact is to decrease incentives to point out flaws in your friends as well.