202504051625 Status: #idea Tags: #institutions #bureaucracy #government # Social rewards are powerful incentives Social rewards are unique in that they can be created from nothing (vs material rewards) by high status/power individuals within an organization. For example, in Britain, the honor system consisted of dozens of titles that held no intrinsic material value but had immense value because high status people, and by extension society at large, placed great value in them. As a result, high power individuals in an empire can make great use of social rewards to incentivize mid power players to act in accordance with their goals. ## Related Ideas - [[One of the primary roles of a ruler or leader is to shape incentives]] - [[High power players in an empire cooperate when there are opportunities for expansion]] - [[Power in an empire is determined by control of the central sub-empire]] - [[Fogg Behavior Model]] - [[Classifying empires]] --- # References [[Great Founder Theory]]