Elitism is a belief or attitude that an elite — a selected group of persons whose personal abilities, specialized training or other attributes place them at the top of any field (see below) — are the people whose views on a matter are to be taken most seriously, or who are alone fit to govern. Thus elitism sees an elite as occupying a special position of authority or privilege in a group, set apart from the majority of people who do not match up with their abilities or attributes. Thus this selected elite is treated with favouritism. Members of an inherited elite are aristocrats. In sociology as in general usage, the élite (the elect, from French) is a relatively small dominant group within a larger society, which enjoys a privileged status which is upheld by individuals of lower social status within the structure of a group. ... A privilege is an honour, or permissive activity granted by another person or even a government. ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ...

For the converse of "elitism" see "anti-elitism" and "populism". Anti-elitism is a term used to describe attitudes of resent, or in extreme cases, hate for those of power. ...

Abilities or attributes that identify an elite vary. They include:

• High level of academic qualifications
• High level of experience in a given field
• High intelligence
• High natural abilities such as athletic abilities
• High creativity
• Good taste
• Claimed God-given qualities, abilities, or status.

Commonly, large amount of personal wealth, often assessed as the reward of elite qualities by those who are impressed by it, are insufficient on their own, as every nouveau riche can attest. This article is about academic degrees. ... This article discusses the general concept of experience. ... Intelligence is usually said to involve mental capabilities such as the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Taste is one of the most common and fundamental of the senses in life on Earth. ... The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. ... Wealth usually refers to money and property. ... Nouveau riche ( Fr. ...

The term elitism is also used to refer to situations where a group of people who claim to possess high abilities conspire to give themselves extra privileges at the expense of all other people. This form of elitism may be described as discrimination. To discriminate is to make a distinction. ...

Less commonly, elitism may also refer to situations where an elite is given both special privileges and special responsibilities, in the hope that this arrangement will benefit all people.

At times elitism is closely related to social class and stratification. People within a higher social class are usually known as the "social elite". Social class describes the relationships between people in hierarchical societies or cultures. ...

Anti-elitism

Main article: Anti-elitism Anti-elitism is a term used to describe attitudes of resent, or in extreme cases, hate for those of power. ...

The term "elitism" or the title "elitist" can be used resentfully by a person who is not a member of an elite, or is a member but resents their position or uses it in a condescending or cynical manner in order to ridicule or criticise practices which discriminate on the basis of ability or attributes. Often, accusing someone of being an "elitist" is a pejorative remark meant to imply that the person in question does not in fact deserve to be considered part of an elite. Elitism can be seen as encouraging the exclusion of large numbers of people from positions of privilege or power. A word or phrase is pejorative or derogatory (sometimes misspelled perjorative) if it expresses contempt or disapproval; dyslogistic (noun: dyslogism) is used synonymously (antonyms: meliorative, eulogistic, noun eulogism). ...

Elitism and education

Elitism in the context of education is the practice of concentrating attention on or allocating funding to the students who rank highest in a particular field of endeavour, the other students being deemed less worthy of attention. Students attending a lecture at the Helsinki University of Technology Etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation verb stŭdērĕ, which means to direct ones zeal at; hence a student is one who directs zeal at a subject. ...

Elitism in education could be based upon learning ability, knowledge, or other abilities.

See also

• academic elitism
• aristocracy
• meritocracy
• social class