Misplaced Pages

Elitism: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 12:30, 25 October 2020 editCitation bot (talk | contribs)Bots5,405,563 edits Alter: url. URLs might have been internationalized/anonymized. Add: author pars. 1-1. Removed parameters. Some additions/deletions were actually parameter name changes. | You can use this bot yourself. Report bugs here. | Suggested by AManWithNoPlan | All pages linked from cached copy of User:AManWithNoPlan/sandbox2 | via #UCB_webform_linked 2844/5071← Previous edit Revision as of 02:57, 5 November 2020 edit undoFreezingwedge (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users3,318 edits Copied content from social stratificationNext edit →
Line 6: Line 6:
] is the sociological or political science analysis of elite influence in society: elite theorists regard pluralism as a utopian ideal. ] 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 ] and what ]s call ], which in the ] tradition have long been anchored in the "blue blood" claims of hereditary ]. Members of the upper classes are sometimes known as the social elite. Elitism is closely related to ] and what ]s term "]". In modern ], social stratification is typically defined in terms of three distinct ]es: the ], the ], and the ].<ref name="Saunders1990">{{cite book | author-link=Peter Robert Saunders | url=https://archive.org/details/socialclassstrat0000saun | url-access=registration | title=Social Class and Stratification | publisher=Routledge | last=Saunders | first=Peter | year=1990 | isbn=978-0-415-04125-6}}</ref>


The term ''elitism'' is also sometimes used to denote situations in which a group of people claiming to possess high abilities or simply an ] or ] grant themselves extra privileges at the expense of others. This form of elitism may be described as ].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=STZTAQAAQBAJ&q=elitism|title=Elitism (Routledge Revivals)|last1=Field|first1=G. Lowell|last2=Higley|first2=John|date=October 14, 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135092214|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/elitist|title=elitist {{!}} Definition of elitist in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries {{!}} English|access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref> The term ''elitism'' is also sometimes used to denote situations in which a group of people claiming to possess high abilities or simply an ] or ] grant themselves extra privileges at the expense of others. This form of elitism may be described as ].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=STZTAQAAQBAJ&q=elitism|title=Elitism (Routledge Revivals)|last1=Field|first1=G. Lowell|last2=Higley|first2=John|date=October 14, 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135092214|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/elitist|title=elitist {{!}} Definition of elitist in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries {{!}} English|access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref>

Revision as of 02:57, 5 November 2020

Attitude that a select, elite group of individuals deserve more influence than others "Elitist" redirects here. For other uses, see Elitist (disambiguation).
Part of a series on
Discrimination
Forms
Attributes
Social
Religious
Ethnic/national
Manifestations
Policies
Countermeasures
Related topics

Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people described as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, special skills, or experience—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. Oppositions of elitism include anti-elitism, egalitarianism, populism, and political theory of pluralism.

Elite theory 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". In modern Western societies, social stratification is typically defined in terms of three distinct social classes: the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class.

The term elitism is also sometimes used to denote situations in which a group of people claiming to possess high abilities or simply an in-group or cadre grant themselves extra privileges at the expense of others. This form of elitism may be described as discrimination.

Some synonyms 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. 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 within a given field; a high degree of physical discipline.

Elitists tend to favor social systems such as meritocracy, technocracy and plutocracy as opposed to political egalitarianism and populism. 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.

See also

References

  1. ^ "elitist | Definition of elitist in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  2. Saunders, Peter (1990). Social Class and Stratification. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-04125-6.
  3. Field, G. Lowell; Higley, John (October 14, 2013). Elitism (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. ISBN 9781135092214.
  4. "ELITIST | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  5. "Elite (elitist) theory". auburn.edu. Auburn University. Retrieved 13 August 2014.

External links

Categories: