Elitism

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 'democratisation' while gross inequality remains intact. This important book argues that the real elites escape scrutiny while everything that makes our lives worth living becomes worthy and diluted. 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.

Eliane Glaser is the author of Anti-Politics: On the Demonization of Ideology, Authority and the State (Repeater, 2018) and Get Real: How to See Through the Hype, Spin and Lies of Modern Life (Fourth Estate, 2012). In addition to her print journalism, she also produces BBC Radio programmes such as Free Thinking, Front Row and Woman's Hour, and is a senior lecturer at Bath Spa University. She lives in north London.