To Whom the Spoils?

When society changes as a result of cultural, economic, and/or political upheaval, the foundation of each individual’s identity, preferences, place and status, which were formed in reference to the society as it was but no longer is, are undermined, and success in what was can be turned into failure in what is. To understand the individual’s responses, I examine a model of a goal-oriented, socially embedded agent, then consider possible responses to societal change using the model as a lens through which to understand the world racked by convulsive change