e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism (¹-l¶“t¹z”…m, ³-l¶“-) n. 1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources. 2.a. The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class. b. Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class. --e·lit“ist adj. & n.
Superiority is a matter of both perception and category. That my strength of limb is superior to a child’s is a fact. I perceive my intellect is inferior to a host of elder scholars, craftspeople, diplomats, and writers. In social status my “middle class” family is inferior to most old money and heads of corporations driving the scope decisions on this planet. We seem to be superior in status to the majority of the world’s population in terms of social status because we are citizens of the most powerful nation on earth, can obtain upper level jobs more easily than most, own property and bank accounts – with access to greater financial resources, and own/use a host of newer and expensive domiciles and equipment, including computers and vehicles, on a daily basis.
Lisa charges me regularly with some kind of elitism, implying that I look down upon the rest of the world as inferior. As with most recurring discomforts, there is probably some justice in this. I do perceive myself to be clearer about the history, names, and workings of things than most folks I know. This attitude is itself middle class. Everybody believes at some level that they have a part of the market cornered on figuring out The Way Things Work. Being upper class involves simply making things so and having that be the way things are, because the structures of life are set up to support that reality by those with power who have gone before. It is the middle class mind that tells the world “I know how things work,” implying that change will follow thereby. The lower class thought is also “I know how the world really works” but is often a private agony followed by “and I can’t really do anything about it.”
Just because I can be elitist doesn’t mean that every word from my mouth that suggests superiority or inferiority of some kind is evidence of some original character flaw and reveals a hidden desire in me to rule the world. Good grief, I’m SO much smarter than anyone who would think that.
