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ELITISM
Elitism is a belief or attitude that the people who are considered to be the elite — a selected group of persons whose personal abilities, wealth, specialised training or experience, or other attributes place them at the top of any field (especially politics and business, but see below) — are the people whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously, or that these are persons whose views should be regarded as carrying the most weight, or, more simply, these people are best fit to govern. Elitism may also be used to convey a less rational and more purely arrogant sense of entitlement to better treatment owing to wealth, social standing, etc.
Stemming mostly from this usage, elitism has highly negative connotations and is often used pejoratively as conveying arrogance or disregard for the general non-elite public. In its political and sociological sense, elitism sees an elite as occupying a special position of authority or privilege in a group, set apart from the majority of people without the selected abilities or attributes.
For the converse of "elitism" see "anti-elitism", "populism", and the political theory of Pluralism.
Characteristics of the "elite"
Attributes that identify an elite vary; personal achievement may not be essential. Elite attributes include:
- Commonly, large amounts 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 simply 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.
Anti-elitism
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Elitism as a pejorative term
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 the elite 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 used as 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 vs. Egalitarianism
Elitism can be interpreted as encouraging the exclusion of large numbers of people from positions of privilege or power. Thus, many populists seek the social equality of Egalitarianism, Populism, Socialism, or Communism. They may also support affirmative action, social security, luxury taxes, and increasingly high progressive taxes for the wealthiest members of society. All of these measures seek to reduce the gap of power between the elite and those who are not elite.
Elitism vs. Pluralism
The polar opposite of elitism in American politics is called Pluralism. In this sense, Pluralism is the believe that public policy decisions are the result of the struggle of multiple large groups that participate in the policy-making process (such as a business group vs. a labor union group vs. a consumer group), rather than two or three powerful members of the elite who gathered together in a room to write a law or make a new regulation.
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.
See also
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