What is it about human nature that encourages this? There are people.who look down upon those who go to ex-polys rather than Russell Group and others who worry that their partner will cheat on them if they meet someone 'better' looking. At the root of this is an obsessive fear of mediocrity, a fear of being bested, as if we are animals fighting each other for food and mates. What makes some people feel this way, what drives Social Darwinism?