James Madison’s reference to the “confusion and intemperance” of the multitude used to be the rationale of a government by the elite. What is the intellectual legacy of elitism in the United States today?
| This post is part of a reading series on Democracy Incorporated by Sheldon S. Wolin. To quickly access all chapters, please click here. Disclaimer: This chapter summary is personal work and an invitation to read the book itself for a detailed view of all the author’s ideas. |
“Elitism might be defined as the political principle which assumes that the existence of unequal abilities is an irrefutable fact,” says Sheldon Wolin. Though the existence of unequal human abilities may look like a mere fact of life, it needs to be correctly understood. Since they had not developed a written culture and a science-based technology as much as Europeans had, native Americans or people from Africa were once considered savages incapable of theoretical thinking. Prejudices can easily substitute themselves for reality.
If racism or social status discrimination can hardly be used anymore as formal reasons to enforce the power of a ruling class, the self-serving system of fake elites will always be a threat to democracy. “Today in the United States there is a circular system whereby elites are produced and the institutions producing them are confirmed as “elite institutions,” thereby attracting a fresh supply of promising material that further confirms the institutions’ special status. . . . Elitism functions as a self-sustaining enterprise. The key is to produce not only successful alumni but rich ones to feed the virtually insatiable appetite of elite institutions, where fund-raisers are as prolific as scholars and university financial officers are millionaires. While still in school those chosen as future elites are encouraged to “network” with each other for later reference and assistance.”
What is the state of the elites today in the U.S.?