People on every side of the political spectrum agree on the idea that money shapes society, and economic change drives social change. So the argument that influencing change needs social and moral action as fundamentally as economic strategy might catch you off-guard. Take the context in which you’re reading these words. Corporate culture is notorious for making symbolic gestures at inclusion that don’t match up to the complicated and difficult project of creating more equitable workplaces.

But how we see ourselves, and how others see us, is such an important part of how societies function that we can’t afford to have it reduced to petty symbolism. That is the argument Michèle Lamont makes in Seeing Others: How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World, published last year. Lamont is a pioneering sociologist at Harvard University. Over the course of a celebrated career, her research has focused on how societies make meaning, their collective understanding of what is important – and who, in turn, is accorded dignity, importance and “worth” in that society.

A key part of this work is done through culture, public narratives and interpersonal relationships. Through art and entertainment, visibility in media, and public communications, we help sustain what Lamont calls “recognition chains” – networks that scale up and disseminate messages of recognition, amplifying ideas about social worth.

For brands, advertising is a way to disseminate their values at scale. For employers, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is a key part of building that recognition chain, as long as the work of recognising and valuing talent from historically excluded groups isn’t reduced purely to a gesture. Arguably, discussing women’s experiences in the workplace is as important to the future well-being of women at that workplace as, for example, correcting gender-biased compensation.

That’s because making people know that they are visible and valued is of equal importance to addressing their material needs, Lamont’s research shows. This means confronting and changing social standards, and not reducing them to political or economic contingencies.

Lamont is writing not only for organisations and individuals, but also for twenty-first century societies wary of deepening divides. Rising inequality has destabilised the idea of shared goals and equal opportunities. Cultural divides, exaggerated in mass media, seem starker than ever. Decades of lopsided profit-making have caused entire populations within a society or country to feel alienated from the mainstream.

In the US, the divide is most visible through exclusionary white supremacy, and Black people’s resistance to racism. But while it’s easy to think of these things merely as two sides of a culture war, the work of recognising marginalised groups, and of letting people from such groups know that they are “seen,” is a powerful act of redefining social value, Lamont writes.

Indian readers should find this argument resonantly familiar. Dr B.R. Ambedkar, architect of India’s constitution, was more keenly aware than most that social reform was the basis of a progressive society, and not simply a by-product of radical or forward-thinking economics. To varying degrees, this belief was shared widely by independent India’s early leaders. In the Constituent Assembly that shaped the modern republic, debates about the future of Indian society were inseparable from questions of its economy and polity. From refugee policy to caste-based reservation, many profoundly influential reforms were shaped by this outlook.

Ironically, that history may lead to the belief that most social questions in a modern society are settled, and change is now a matter of policy. Across the world, whether in government or at the workplace, most people invested in a better future are likely to focus on how to achieve their objectives through politics or economics. These are key mechanisms of the distribution of resources. But without understanding our mechanisms of recognition, we will be creating a crisis of dignity and importance that will outlast any new laws or regulatory frameworks.

Text by Supriya Nair. Photo by–– Rolie Breja