Elitism
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Elitismis the notion that individuals who form anelite— a select group with desirable qualities such asintellect,wealth,power,physical attractiveness,notability, specialskills,experience,lineage— are more likely to be constructive to society and deserve greater influence or authority.[1]The termelitismmay 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 includeegalitarianism,anti-intellectualism(against powerful institutions perceived to be controlled by elites),populism,and thepolitical theoryofpluralism.
Elite theoryis the sociological or political science analysis of elite influence in society: elite theorists regardpluralismas autopian ideal.
Elitism is closely related tosocial classand whatsociologiststerm "social stratification".In modernWestern societies,social stratification is typically defined in terms of three distinctsocial classes:theupper class,themiddle class,and thelower class.[2]
Somesynonymsfor "elite" might be "upper-class" or "aristocratic",indicating that the individual in question has a relatively large degree of control over a society'smeans 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.[3]
Characteristics
[edit]Attributes that identify an elite vary; personal achievement may not be essential. Elite statuscanbe 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.[citation needed]
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 orwisdomwithin a given field; a high degree of physicaldiscipline.[citation needed]
Elitists tend to favor social systems such astechnocracy,combined withmeritocracyand/orplutocracy,as opposed to politicalegalitarianismandpopulism.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.[4]
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 heavy inferiority-superiority.
From previous years, we've seen an increased amount of divergence in terms of mutual association, where naturally grown circles of elitists people, bound themselves together in the view to approach and argue about global challenges. There are many names or formed groups, however, one in particular named "Decentralized Autonomous Organizations",abbreviated" DAO ", has demonstrated their abilities to create high level workstreams or cells, that can be either nominated by their peers, or from a closed-circle using tokenized democracy with a voting system. Even at the" core "of these clusters," others "small groups of people assemble from the inside, and intrinsically lead the advance as" collective intelligence ", applying theoretical and applied concepts to further research and development.
See also
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References
[edit]- ^"elitist | Definition of elitist in English by Oxford Dictionaries".Oxford Dictionaries | English.Archived fromthe originalon 25 September 2016.Retrieved4 March2019.
- ^Saunders, Peter(1990).Social Class and Stratification.Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-04125-6.
- ^"ELITIST | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary".dictionary.cambridge.org.Retrieved4 March2019.
- ^"Elite (elitist) theory".auburn.edu.Auburn University.Retrieved13 August2014.
External links
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- 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.Reviewof William Deresiewicz's bookExcellent Sheep(April 2015),Foreign Affairs
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