The “rat race” implies a maze built for endless running—motion without meaning. Even the “winner” remains defined by the same rules: constant comparison, fear of falling behind, and rewards that never quite settle into satisfaction. In that sense, Tomlin is less interested in personal failure than in the structure of the competition.
This connects to a long tradition of doubting status-driven striving: Thorstein Veblen’s concept of “conspicuous consumption” in *The Theory of the Leisure Class* (1899) describes how people chase signals of rank that require continual upkeep, ensuring the race never really ends. [...]
