The Survivor & The Setter

If there's a keen observation I might have made on this wonderful world of ours and the beautiful people that inhabit it, it's that people can generally be divided into two broad, and distinct, categories. I'm not saying I've made a discovery on the psychological behaviour of why people do things the way they do it, but I've definitely tackled a conclusion all on my own. Regardless of whether similar information may be available on the internet the categories I've come up with are, namely, the Survivor and the Setter.

The Survivor

Survivors are introverted people who, well, survive. Typical characteristics of a Survivor include passiveness, patience, and adaptability. Survivors are people who are generally well-suited to their environment, be it a blistering tundra or a hot desert. A pure Survivor is one who will never alter the environment or the people around him and will, instead, bend his own ways to better suit the changing times. They are peace-loving people known for their neutrality but can also be termed selfish and self-centered by those who may not know them well. Docile by nature they are not too keen on rapid expansion and progress into the unknown and would rather stay at their place of abode and "live and let live."

The perfect example of this kind of behaviour on a marcoeconomic and global scale is the Swiss Confederation, known to the layman as Switzerland. The confederation's foreign policies are entirely peace-driven and Switzerland is popularly known as the nation that never interferes. For the sake of internal stability and external "isolation" Switzerland has managed to make itself neutral from the decisions of the world, more or less. Other global examples include many central European countries (Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, etc.), the four Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland), as well as the South-East Asian nations.

On a more personal level the Survivor can be anyone you may know who tends to slip into the background during group gatherings or that person who you may find easy to befriend. Such a person would do anything to avoid confrontation, from offering his chair to fetching your cellular phone and letting you through the door first to listening attentively to your troubles or gains. However, it is practically impossible to find or be a pure Survivor. The essence of the Survivor is to go by unnoticed but in our society of extroverts the Survivor may find it difficult sheltering himself from attention. This only makes sense as the "good listener" would be a popular talk among single women who wish for a passive man. Or the "nice guy" could be extremely popular among his peers for always having money on him or always managing to offer a ride home.

Through this perspective no one is a pure Survivor. Also, Survivors tend to leave the decision-making to the Setters (explained below) but through inadvertent sympathy they have the potential to make decisions without ever realising it. For example, you have always gotten up from the computer whenever your better half asked you to do so. However, one day your better half finally notices (or chooses to notice) your obedience and may reward you by letting you stay on for longer. This way, the Survivor has subsequently behaved like the Setter.

The Setter

 
On the other hand we have society's extroverted decision-maker, the Setter. Typical characteristics of a Setter are nearly opposite to that of a Survivor. I write 'nearly' because, just like the Survivor, no one can be a pure Setter. Back to the point; Setters are people who, instead of letting things go the way they were and changing themselves to better suit their surroundings, would rather change the surroundings to better suit themselves. Just like their name suggests, the Setter "sets" things and organises the world to his liking. Born with aggression and a knack for dominance the Setter will never settle for anything below his expectations. These are the people who are known for their charisma and leadership skills but can also be negatively portrayed as dominating and intrusive.

Perhaps the greatest known example of a Setter on a global scale is that of the United States of America. The federal republic, ever since the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has played a major role in many of the world's following events including the Cold War, the forming of Israel, and now the War on Terror. Their "nosy" foreign policy has ensured them interference, for the better or worse, on interstate matters of various Middle-Eastern nations as well as the Indian Subcontinent. Their intrusive nature also includes, apparently for the better, North Korea and previously the Gaddafi-regime in Libya.

On a personal scale the Setter is perhaps your boss at work or the bully at school. He can also be the annoying sibling who bosses you around or the over-possessive wife/girlfriend who keeps tabs on everything you do. Pardon me, as I have included a great deal of bias in my description of the Setter-types. On a more unbiased note, they are the men and women who shape the future of mankind. Depicted by the great Godfather, Vito Corleone, the Setters tend to play the elitist role of society by giving out orders and controlling the controllers. Again, no one can be purely the Setter type as some decisions are left unmade and under certain circumstances a Setter person may even behave, albiet remotely, like the Survivor person (in that they wish peace).

Well, that's it for my keen observation, if I do say so myself. Interestingly enough this whole idea of Survivor and Setter was purely concocted after I observed the rationale of my younger brother (the middle-child) and myself. Of course, you can clearly see where the bias came from...

Which type do you feel yourself to be?