| Revision as of 04:34, 24 May 2006 editRenamed user h24thydsf2 (talk | contribs)3,170 editsm Reverted edits by 24.126.76.106 (talk) to version 54838467 by Dakpowers using VandalProof← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:19, 26 May 2006 edit undoGreat Young Jake Remington (talk | contribs)1 edit Still here, and I wonNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| '''Elitism''' is a belief or attitude that an ] — a selected group of persons whose personal abilities, specialized training or other attributes place them at the top of any field (see below) — are the people whose views on a matter are to be taken most seriously, or who are alone fit to govern. Elites may also treat others as not being good enough to be their companions. Thus elitism sees an elite as occupying a special position of authority or ] in a group, set apart from the majority of people who do not match up with their abilities or attributes. Thus this selected elite is treated with '''favouritism'''. Members of an ''inherited'' elite are ]s and naturally tend towards preserving the status quo. | {{delete}}'''Elitism''' is a belief or attitude that an ] — a selected group of persons whose personal abilities, specialized training or other attributes place them at the top of any field (see below) — are the people whose views on a matter are to be taken most seriously, or who are alone fit to govern. Elites may also treat others as not being good enough to be their companions. Thus elitism sees an elite as occupying a special position of authority or ] in a group, set apart from the majority of people who do not match up with their abilities or attributes. Thus this selected elite is treated with '''favouritism'''. Members of an ''inherited'' elite are ]s and naturally tend towards preserving the status quo. | ||
| For the converse of "elitism" see "]" and "]". | For the converse of "elitism" see "]" and "]". | ||
Revision as of 14:19, 26 May 2006
This article may meet Misplaced Pages's criteria for speedy deletion, but no reason has been given for why it qualifies. Please ensure that your reason is based on one of the speedy deletion criteria. Replace this tag with {{db|1=some reason}}. NA
If this article does not meet the criteria for speedy deletion, or you intend to fix it, please remove this notice, but do not remove this notice from pages that you have created yourself. If you created this page and you disagree with the given reason for deletion, you can click the button below and leave a message explaining why you believe it should not be deleted. You can also visit the talk page to check if you have received a response to your message. Note that this article may be deleted at any time if it unquestionably meets the speedy deletion criteria, or if an explanation posted to the talk page is found to be insufficient.
Note to administrators: this article has content on its talk page which should be checked before deletion. Administrators: check links, talk, history (last), and logs before deletion. Consider checking Google.This page was last edited by Great Young Jake Remington (contribs | logs) at 14:19, 26 May 2006 (UTC) (18 years ago) |
Elitism is a belief or attitude that an elite — a selected group of persons whose personal abilities, specialized training or other attributes place them at the top of any field (see below) — are the people whose views on a matter are to be taken most seriously, or who are alone fit to govern. Elites may also treat others as not being good enough to be their companions. Thus elitism sees an elite as occupying a special position of authority or privilege in a group, set apart from the majority of people who do not match up with their abilities or attributes. Thus this selected elite is treated with favouritism. Members of an inherited elite are aristocrats and naturally tend towards preserving the status quo.
For the converse of "elitism" see "anti-elitism" and "populism".
Attributes that identify an elite vary; personal achievement may not be essential. Attributes of elites include:
- High level of political influence
- Membership in powerful cliques and desirable clubs
- High level of academic qualifications
- High level of experience in a given field (achieved status)
- High intelligence
- High natural abilities such as athletic abilities
- High creativity
- Good taste, since "taste" is defined by the elite
- Claimed innate qualities, abilities, or other ascribed status.
Commonly, large amount of personal wealth, often assessed as the reward of elite qualities by those who are impressed by it, are insufficient on their own, as every nouveau riche can attest.
The term elitism is also used to refer to situations where a group of people who claim to possess high abilities or simple an in-group or cadre conspire to give themselves extra privileges at the expense of all other people. This form of elitism may be described as discrimination.
Less commonly, elitism may also refer to situations where an elite is given both special privileges and special responsibilities, in the hope that this arrangement will benefit all people.
At times elitism is closely related to social class and stratification. People within a higher social class are usually known as the "social elite".
Anti-elitism
- Main article: Anti-elitism
The term "elitism" or the title "elitist" can be used resentfully by a person who is not a member of an elite, or is a member but resents their position or uses it in a condescending or cynical manner in order to ridicule or criticise practices which discriminate on the basis of ability or attributes. Often, accusing someone of being an "elitist" is a pejorative remark meant to imply that the person in question does not in fact belong to an elite, but is merely a hanger-on. Elitism can be seen as encouraging the exclusion of large numbers of people from positions of privilege or power. Thus, many anti-elitists seek the social equality of Egalitarianism, Populism, Socialism, or Communism. They may also support affirmative action, social security, luxury tax, and increasingly high progressive tax for the wealthiest members of society. All of these measures seek to reduce the gap of power between the elites and non-elites.
Elitism and education
- Main article: Academic elitism
Elitism in the context of education is the practice of concentrating attention on or allocating funding to the students who rank highest in a particular field of endeavour, the other students being deemed less worthy of attention.
Elitism in education could be based upon learning ability, knowledge, or other abilities.