Liberal elite

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Liberal elite and Liberal elitist are terms used in the United States by some ideological opponents to refer pejoratively to liberals, who are wealthy, are part of the upper or professional working class, and/or adopt lifestyles and opinions that are considered, by the user of the term, to be out of step with American society. The term elite includes the connotation, drawn from writers such as Vilfredo Pareto and C. Wright Mills that members of this group exercise disproportionate influence in political, cultural and social fields. In other English speaking societies, where the term "liberal" has a different meaning, the terms "elite" or "elitist" may be used (sometimes in formations such as "leftwing elite" or "progressive elite") with similar implications.


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[edit] United States

In the US, the term is most often applied to residents of the Northeast (especially New England, New York City and the rest of the BosWash area) and the West Coast (especially the San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle areas), who often live upscale urban lifestyles, are very affluent, hold advanced college degrees, and are politically left-leaning.

It is considered a political disadvantage for a campaigning US politician to be associated in the minds of the electorate with the "liberal elite" because they would then seem to be not only out of step with mainstream opinion, but also privileged, and therefore unfamiliar with the concerns of the typical American voter. The liberal elite are often stereotyped as being snooty and condescending toward others particularly those living in Middle America. Thus it is often used by many politicians to apply to their left-leaning opponents if they also live an affluent or upscale lifestyle.

In the United States, the lifestyle of the liberal elite is often considered noteworthy.[1][2] The liberal elite are often characterized as having an affinity for coffeehouses and European cultures, especially the culture of France. French cheeses and wines, expensive coffee[3], and foreign films are often associated with the liberal elite. This association can be applied to suggest that someone is unpatriotic, and disdainful of American life and culture.

A political ad from the supply-side organization Club for Growth which attacked the Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean summed up many of the stereotypes of the liberal elite: "Howard Dean should take his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show back to Vermont, where it belongs."[4]

Among members of the country's intellectual elite, most of whom are members of the professional class not upper class,[5] liberalism remains the most prominent ideology. The vast majority of professors, 72% identify themselves as liberals. At Ivy League Universities, an even larger majority of 87% of professors identified themselves as liberals.[6] Additionally those with some post graduate study were more likely to vote Democratic in the 1996,[7] 2000,[8] 2004, [9] and 2006 elections.[10]

In Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas? the idea of a liberal elite is suggested to be similar to the character of Emmanuel Goldstein in the George Orwell book Nineteen-Eighty Four, the fictional hated enemy of the people. Frank argues that anger directed towards this perceived enemy is what keeps the conservative coalition together.

[edit] United Kingdom

In the UK, elitism has traditionally been associated with the aristocracy, rather than well-off supporters of social change. However, the term is used similarly to American use in reference to people, often residents of northern suburbs of London such as Hampstead or Islington, and recently south Manchester areas such as Didsbury, who may be involved in the media or the liberal professions, for example teaching and social work. The The Guardian newspaper is often associated with such groupings, as discussed here. They are perceived to exert political influence out of proportion to wider popular support for their opinions. Certain organizations are sometimes accused of being under the influence of a liberal elite - hence terms such as "BBC-Guardian axis". One example of claims of liberal elitism is the myth that Labour frontbencher Peter Mandelson saw mushy peas in a fish and chip shop and asked the proprietor about the "guacamole dip", or in one version of the story "avocado mousse",[11] implying a gulf between his perspective and that of his working-class constituents.

[edit] Australia

In Australia, the term "chardonnay socialist" is regularly used by people from throughout the political spectrum to criticize opponents. For example, Australian left-wing "true believers" leveled it at supporters of the failed republic referendum of 1999 (where the vote was split not along conventional party lines but very much along socio-economic divides, with the rich overwhelmingly supporting the change while the less well-off were opposed – a superficially bizarre pattern for a non-economic issue). Staunch Australian right-wingers, on the other hand, level it at those who support such things as government funding for the arts, free tertiary education, and the ABC – all causes which are described by critics as "middle-class welfare".

As in the US, users of the term "elite" have been criticised for hypocrisy. Reviewing the book Twilight of the Elites by David Flint, Gerard Henderson states [1]

If words have meaning, Professor David Flint AM would be regarded as the member of an elite. Educated in Sydney, London and Paris, he became a tenured professor in law. In 1997 the Howard Government appointed Flint as chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Authority, one of the most influential positions in Australian public life. According to Who's Who in Australia 2003, he is a member of Sydney's Union Club.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.phenomenologycenter.org/course/onenation.htm
  2. ^ http://ww2.mfa-inc.com/todaysfarmer/past/940420.asp
  3. ^ Media Matters - CNN's Crowley again defines liberals by purported choice of caffeinated beverage
  4. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E5DA1730F932A25752C0A9629C8B63
  5. ^ Thompson, W. & Hickey, J. (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Pearson.
  6. ^ Kurtz, H. (29 March, 2005). College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds. The Washington Post..
  7. ^ CNN. (1996). Exit Poll..
  8. ^ CNN. (2000). Exit Poll..
  9. ^ CNN. (2004). Exit Poll..
  10. ^ CNN. (2006). Exit Poll.. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
  11. ^ Foot-in-mouth disease, or things politicians wish they hadn’t said - Times Online

[edit] See also