Survival is a Prisoner’s Dilemma

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If you don't suck up or read people's moods, you might say the wrong thing or do the wrong deed and offend people. If you don't read, you can't understand how these people actually think, and you won't be able to fit in.

Being wealthy is like climbing a tree: there are people above you and people below you. The ones above are kicking hard, trying to kick you down, while the ones below are pulling hard, trying to yank you down.

If your emotional intelligence isn't high enough—meaning you can't read the room or handle social situations—you'll be kicked down by those above. If your IQ or capability isn't strong enough, you'll be pulled down by those below.

The fact that you have some money doesn't mean others do; being full doesn't mean everyone else is. The people at the bottom of the tree don't want to pull you down, but they have to—it's survival. Likewise, the people at the top have no choice but to kick you; if they don't do it today, you'll pull them down tomorrow. To prevent being dragged down themselves, they strike first. It's the classic "better them than me" mentality.

Whether at the top, on the branches, or at the base of the tree, this is an open-card game. Everyone knows what the others will do. This is called the Prisoner's Dilemma.

At the end of the day, nobody wants to become a "hexagonal warrior"—someone talented in every dimension. Being so multifaceted is just a matter of necessity and pressure from life.

This is exactly how the US-China rivalry plays out, and it applies the same way to cities, families, and individuals.