Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect,

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

, power, notability, special skills, or

experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience invol ...

—are more likely to be constructive to society as a whole, and therefore deserve influence or authority greater than that of others. The term ''elitism'' may be used to describe a situation in which power is concentrated in the hands of a limited number of people. Beliefs that are in opposition to elitism include egalitarianism, anti-intellectualism,

populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...

, and the

political theory Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

pluralism Pluralism denotes a diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach or method. Pluralism or pluralist may refer to: Politics and law * Pluralism (political philosophy), the acknowledgement of a diversity of political systems * Plur ...

Elite theory In political science and sociology, elite theory is a theory of the State that seeks to describe and explain power relationships in contemporary society. The theory posits that a small minority, consisting of members of the economic elite and ...

is the sociological or political science analysis of elite influence in society: elite theorists regard pluralism as a utopian ideal. Elitism is closely related to social class and what sociologists term "

social stratification Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political ...

". In modern Western societies, social stratification is typically defined in terms of three distinct social classes: the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is ...

, the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Co ...

, and the lower class. Some

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

s for "elite" might be "upper-class" or " aristocratic", indicating that the individual in question has a relatively large degree of control over a society's

means of production The means of production is a term which describes land, Work (human activity), labor and capital (economics), capital that can be used to produce products (such as goods or Service (economics), services); however, the term can also refer to anyth ...

. This includes those who gain this position due to socioeconomic means and not personal achievement. However, these terms are misleading when discussing elitism as a political theory, because they are often associated with negative "class" connotations and fail to appreciate a more unbiased exploration of the philosophy.

Characteristics

Attributes that identify an elite vary; personal achievement may not be essential. Elite status ''can'' be based on personal achievement, such as degrees from top-rate universities or impressive internships and job offers, as well as on lineage or passed-on fame from parents or grandparents. As a term, "elite" usually describes a person or group of people who are members of the uppermost class of society, and wealth can contribute to that class determination. Personal attributes commonly purported by elitist theorists to be characteristic of the elite include: rigorous study of, or great accomplishment within, a particular field; a long track record of competence in a demanding field; an extensive history of dedication and effort in service to a specific discipline (e.g., medicine or law) or a high degree of accomplishment, training or

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowled ...

within a given field; a high degree of physical discipline. Elitists tend to favor social systems such as

meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achie ...

, technocracy and plutocracy as opposed to political egalitarianism and

. Elitists believe only a few "movers and shakers" truly change society, rather than the majority of people who only vote and elect the elites into power. Elitism can not be entirely defined in one nature. Its interpretations broaden over time and communities or groups can create their own interpretations of elitism. The common characteristic among all these forms of elitism is that it shows some form of inferiority-superiority.

References

External links

* Deresiewicz, William (June 2008)
The Disadvantages of an Elite Education
"Our best universities have forgotten that the reason they exist is to make minds, not careers." ''

The American Scholar "The American Scholar" was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College at the First Parish in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his g ...

.''
Review
of William Deresiewicz's book '' Excellent Sheep'' (April 2015), ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

'' {{Authority control Social groups Political science Ideologies Oligarchy Social theories Narcissism Prejudices Elite theory Psychological attitude Pejorative terms

Characteristics

See also

References

External links