Part 4 in a series. Pulitzer- and Emmy-winner William Henry‘s famous polemic, In Defense of Elitism (1994), argues that societies can be ranked along a spectrum with “egalitarianism” on one end and “elitism” […]
Democracy & Elitism 3: burning down the straw man, and who are these out-of-touch "liberal elites," anyway?
Part 3 in a series. Let’s begin with a quick trivia question. What legislator’s Top 20 donor list includes the following? Blackstone Group (Financial Services) Bain Capital FPL Group (Energy) DLA Piper (Corporate […]
Democracy & Elitism 2: performance elitism vs privilege elitism, and why the difference matters
Part 2 in a series. “Elite” hasn’t always been an epithet. In fact, if we consider what the dictionary has to say about it, it still signifies something potentially worthy. Potentially. For […]
Democracy & Elitism: an introduction to the American false consciousness

Part 1 in a series. Is there a more radioactive word in American politics today than elitist? Admit it – you saw the word and had an instinctive negative reaction, didn’t you? […]