Exclusion, Ranking, Narcissism, and Mounting in Contemporary Society

<p>The purpose of this article is to identify common attitudes in contemporary society, with a specific focus on essentialism. This article aims to clarify issues surrounding exclusion and rank structure by reconsidering the characteristics of some recent social phenomena (e.g., NEET, hikikomori, school caste, mounting, and online flaming). Since the beginning of the 21st century, the process of exclusion and ranking, particularly in small-group situations, has taken off at an accelerated rate as a result of increasing internet use. It is now possible to analyze the effects of exclusion and the superiority–inferiority rhetoric used even on the smallest scales. We feel that the research approach adopted should not focus on exclusion and rank consciousness, based on the preconception that they are effects of immoral (“devillike”) and unique behaviors. Instead, we consider that the focus should be on how such behaviors are adopted and experienced by individuals, both consciously and unconsciously. First, we focus on the essential principle-like and excluding nature of identity concerning the theme as “To work” above all. Next, we examine identities formed through consumer culture and the pattern of rank consciousness within consumer culture. Third, we analyze the process of “devilization” in which individuals and groups with different frames of reference categorize other groups of people as inferior. We also describe a strategy that is increasingly common today, namely using both the social and moral context in ways which result in the maximization of narcissism.Finally, we examine how an expression of natural scorn and aggression known as “mounting” has arisen as a consequence of essentialization and devilization.</p>