I would bet that most people who take more interest in "the subtle ballet of [personal] interaction" than in "the minutia[e] of lifeless, non-agenty forces" don't think of the latter mainly in terms of complex status games. Intricate status games are probably just the most fascinating aspect of personal interaction from the perspective of that minority of people who find personal interaction relatively uninteresting to begin with.

I now understand better what RomeoStevens meant, though. I agree that it would be wise to watch out for abstract thinkers whose primary fascination is status games or Machiavellianism.