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Elite Perceptions of Inequality Compared II: Identity, Practices and the Legitimation of Wealth
Abstract Submissions Closed
RC02 Economy and Society (host committee)
Language: English
Session Type: Oral
This session aims to bring together researchers of ‘elite’ perceptions of economic inequality. We are particularly interested in exploring and comparing the context-specific, spatially and historically embedded elements of wealthy environments, and how these are considered in elites’ accounts of their own privileges. For instance, while elites in Brazil or Mexico utilise historic events particular to their national context, like colonialism, to explain and possibly legitimise their privileges, their peers in the UK rely predominantly on market-based explanations.
Previous work on elite perceptions has highlighted the importance of meritocratic ideas and of considering views towards inequalities of gender, ‘race’ and ethnicity. We aim to understand how these different dimensions of inequality influence elite perceptions, moving beyond a one-dimensional idea of privilege to understand how a ‘web of privileges’ is experienced. To that end, it is important to relate current perceptions to the history of place in which ‘elites’ find themselves in. Moreover, with few notable exceptions (e.g. Reis and Moore 2005), the growing body of literature on elite perceptions towards inequality has not yet focused on international or inter-place comparisons. However, to implement successful poverty and inequality reduction policies, it is crucial to understand contextually embedded elite perceptions. Therefore, we aim to scrutinize the role of context through a comparative lens to understand local particularities. Not all contributions will be comparative, but we are particularly inviting scholars keen to relate their own work on ‘elite’ perceptions of inequality to those of other scholars in different parts of the world.