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jazzy_daveEliane Glaser "In Defence of Elitism" (Biteback)
The populist right have marshalled public anger against the real elites – corporate and financial power – and turned it onto those who represent us in Parliament, uphold our rights, treat us when we’re sick, and create and curate the best books, art, and ideas. Culture and education have been made into symbolic arenas of ‘democratization’ while gross inequality remains intact.
Meanwhile, liberals have lost their nerve, accepting the anti-elitism slur at face value. But social privilege is not the same thing as excellence. For too long conservatives have had a monopoly on upholding standards of beauty and truth. But now that they’ve become ruthless modernisers, it’s time for progressives to take on that task. This book provides the ammunition for a timely rebuttal.
I do think she's right that the majority of academics, journos, and artists have terrible working conditions, and the right misrepresents Guardian columnists as falsely representative of these knowledge workers and effaces the real elites, the capitalist class. I also appreciate her defense of standards of value in aesthetics and her references to William Morris, Oscar Wilde, Mark Fisher, & al.
An interesting read.
The populist right have marshalled public anger against the real elites – corporate and financial power – and turned it onto those who represent us in Parliament, uphold our rights, treat us when we’re sick, and create and curate the best books, art, and ideas. Culture and education have been made into symbolic arenas of ‘democratization’ while gross inequality remains intact.
Meanwhile, liberals have lost their nerve, accepting the anti-elitism slur at face value. But social privilege is not the same thing as excellence. For too long conservatives have had a monopoly on upholding standards of beauty and truth. But now that they’ve become ruthless modernisers, it’s time for progressives to take on that task. This book provides the ammunition for a timely rebuttal.
I do think she's right that the majority of academics, journos, and artists have terrible working conditions, and the right misrepresents Guardian columnists as falsely representative of these knowledge workers and effaces the real elites, the capitalist class. I also appreciate her defense of standards of value in aesthetics and her references to William Morris, Oscar Wilde, Mark Fisher, & al.
An interesting read.
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