Elitism

ELITISM, IN ITS POLITICAL SENSE, expresses the attitude that society should be governed by a group of selected persons, elites, who are believed to have distinct and superior qualities. This definition refers to a set of political and cultural beliefs that excludes the views of the majority of people from the process of decision-making and concentrates power in the hands of a small minority. Here lies the distinction between the elite group, which is supposed to monopolize (social, cultural, and political) knowledge, and ordinary people, who are considered ignorant and uneducated. This may be explained in terms of an elitist position reflecting members' views in a favored group.

Historically, the development of the term elitism has come with the evolution of the word elite. Elite was used in 17th-century France to name groups of unique goods and, later, to refer to superior social groups. It began to be commonly used in social and political thought by the late 19th century. Although elitism was inherent to the 19th century's modern political perspectives, including republicanism, conservatism, and romanticism, in the early 20th century Vilfredo Pareto and Gaetano Mosca provided a comprehensive elite theory and a widespread explanation of elitism for social and political thought.

Defining the elite as having distinct capabilities and thus being the only group to govern society, they made the distinction between the rulers and the ruled. In this regard, their argument was based on the belief that society is made up of two classes: elites and masses.

This elitist position challenged socialist and Marxist egalitarianism (which foresaw a classless society), liberal individualism (empowering each individual as valuable and powerful), and democracy (at least in the sense of “rule by the people”). Max Weber (1918) and later his followers, J.A. Schumpeter (1942) and C. Wright Mills (1956), saw democracy as a game of competition of elites for political leadership and so denied the idea of rule by the people. Related to the question of how to govern society, in the views of these social and political theorists, it is obvious that there was emphasis on elitism and belief in the virtue of an elite group of individuals who deserve to be leaders.

In the elite theories, elitism achieved its hegemonic position and status by possessing some sources, values, or knowledge. Social and educational background and elite recruitment processes determined the ways to elite control of political and cultural status, economic wealth, and advantages. Among these elite groups were [Page 630]state (civil and military) officials, businesspersons, intellectuals, religious or social leaders, and politicians. The ability and capacity of elites to organize, communicate among, and mobilize their members was regarded as the main determining factor behind their hegemony and control.

The analysis of the role of elites in social and political life has been integrated in political science. This elite analysis examines the scope of the role elites play in society and politics, and to what extent politically influential elites affect decision-making processes and policy formation. At the heart of this perspective is the countertype of elite unity or the possibility of emergence of a counterelite movement. The argument for the emergence of a counterelite group is that the conflict between elite values and the masses results in the weakness or absence of links between elite groups and the rest of society. The result is the appearance of a new elite group voicing new social demands.

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