The Privileged Few by Clive Hamilton

The Privileged Few Reviews

• 
  Victoria Gillespie

  an excellent and informative book about how elite privilege operates in Australia, how it legitimises and reproduces itself…
  
  made me reflect a lot on education and specifically the meritocracy adages used to justify private schooling
  
  only gripe I had was that it didn’t talk about the way cultural outputs (news media, television, film etc) reify and naturalise structures and practices of elite privilege
• 
  Hazel P

  🍵 Having grown up in China and worked in Beijing for a short period, I am not unfamiliar with “guanxi”—a term synonymous with relationships and networks in the Chinese context. Thus, the first part of the book, including the mining mogul Kerry Stokes seeking exemptions for his family and himself through high-profile connections during the COVID-19 pandemic, did not surprise me.
  
  The most valuable conclusion I draw from the book is that while gender and racial diversity are improving in many areas, class diversity is worsening. This is evidenced by the high schools attended by recipients of Rhodes scholarships, AOs, and high court judges.
  
  What particularly impresses me about the book is its discussion on volunteer tourism. Elite private schools use “poor communities in the global South as sites where privileged students create their ‘portfolio self’, enhance their travel experiences, hone their competence as future leaders, and burnish their CVs” (page 85). The authors critique that this perpetuates a “colonial tradition” still evident in private schools.
  
  The authors further elevate the discussion to philanthropy, arguing that the very wealthy see themselves as hyper-agents, believing only they—embodying the technofix mindset—should be entrusted with public welfare concerns, rather than governments. As a result, foundations set up by the rich, such as the Gates Foundation, “distort global health priorities”. People who work for charitable organizations, like the World Health Organization, may practice self-censorship out of fear of losing monetary support from these foundations if they challenge the notions of the wealthy. Additionally, the rich form alliances with cultural organizations, such as national galleries, to lobby the government on taxation regulations through substantial donations.
  
  Under market liberalism, the wealthy’s ideology becomes dominant, influencing public discourse through alliances with cultural and social capital.
  
  Moreover, the authors discuss strategies used by the rich to legitimize and naturalize their wealth. For instance, they embrace a meritocratic philosophy, emphasizing the hard work they put into increasing their wealth and dismissing the privileges they have or the socioeconomic backgrounds they were born into. They may also differentiate themselves from the “bad rich” by viewing themselves as “conscious spenders”, as if financial privilege no longer exists if consumption decisions are prudent (page 163).
  
  On a personal level, I had my eureka moment when reading that the Rhodes scholarship asks recipients to exemplify positive social engagement. The authors argue that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds may be occupied with caring for family members, limiting their opportunities for such engagement. And the authors also argue that women are more reluctant to exploit networks for personal gain compared with their wealthy male counterparts.
  
  Overall, it is an intriguing read that focuses on the reproduction of elites. The authors argue that social cohesion and democracy deteriorate when class diversity declines and propose solutions, such as challenge panels, to help ensure diverse class representation.
  
  🔖 p31 The idea of doing privilege suggests that privilege is interactional, an 'emergent feature of social situations' The bestowal of privilege relies on processes in which an expectation of privileged treatment is conveyed, recognised and responded to by others.
  
  p43 The second lesson is that, in a democracy at least, civil servants in positions of power can resist pressure to give preferment, even from the most powerful. However, it comes with serious risks and takes personal courage, a quality that, in truth, is rare.
• 
  matt

  if you’re reading this, read this book