Liberal elite

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Liberal elite,[1] also referred to as the metropolitan elite or progressive elite,[2][3][4] is a stereotype of politically liberal people whose education had traditionally opened the doors to affluence and power and who form a managerial elite. It is commonly invoked pejoratively, with the implication that the people who claim to support the rights of the working class are themselves members of the ruling classes and are therefore out of touch with the real needs of the people they claim to support and protect.[4][5][6]

Because the label is a rhetorical device, it carries flexible meaning depending on the circumstances in which it is used. The concept arose in the United States, but has spread to other English-speaking countries, where the term metropolitan elite is more common because liberal can have the opposite meaning, depending on country.

Usage[]

Canada[]

Canadian news outlet CBC reported on an event for supporters of Doug Ford (the premier of Ontario). A supporter described elites as "Those that think they're better than me".[7] Doug Ford also described elites as "people who look down on the average, common folk, thinking they’re smarter and that they know better to tell us how to live our lives".[8] Alex Marland of the Memorial University of Newfoundland commented on Justin Trudeau's popularity with "liberal elites in metropolitan cities" in an article published on ResearchGate entitled "The brand image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in international context".[9]

India[]

See also: Pseudosecularism

In India, the term 'liberal elite' is used to describe the English speaking, left-leaning establishment, aligned to Nehruvian socialism and Marxism, who have formed much of the mainstream intelligentsia and the ruling political class of India, since its independence in 1947. Indian National Congress, often referred to as the 'Grand Old Party' of India, is a left-liberal party, which has dominated the Indian politics for much of its independent history.[10]

Philippines[]

The pejorative dilawan has been used since the 1980s to attack Liberal Party loyalists and politically aligned groups or individuals,[11] often associated with the genteel,[12][13][14] English-speaking professional–managerial class (PMC).[15][16] Dilawan in the plural means Yellows (cf., Reds) in the national language, yellow being the color of the 1986 People Power Revolution (EDSA I),[17] which detractors in turn dismiss as a "revolution of mere elites rather than a revolution of the whole people",[18] and one which "ignor[ed] the existence of the toiling masses and peasants in agrarian Philippines".[19] The term gained renewed currency during the 2016 Philippine presidential election among hardline supporters of Rodrigo Duterte.[a] In the country's English-language political-economic discourse, liberal elite is the term employed.[22][23]

More than a decade prior to Duterte's election, in January 2001, the EDSA II protests, which have since been recognized as unrepresentative and elitist,[19][24][25] culminated in the resignation under pressure of then-president Joseph Estrada and the installation of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as his successor. Arroyo, educated abroad and fluent in multiple colonial languages, was highly regarded by the PMC in contrast to Estrada,[26] a university dropout whose proficiency in English was wanting.[27][28] Populist protests against Arroyo would erupt three months later in what came to be known as EDSA III.[29]

Duterte, while fluent in English, has similarly run afoul of the PMC, which repeatedly draws attention not only to his questionable antics—deplored by no less than his daughter Sara—but also to his frequent use of gutter language.[21][30][31] This aversion, in turn, to gutter language has been criticized as indicative of a socioeconomically privileged upbringing.[32] Such attitudes have been described as a desire on the part of members of the PMC to "want to humiliate their adversaries by attributing to them a desperate lack of intelligence, empathy, and virtue",[33] from which the former are also "uniquely able" to save them.[33][34]

Estrada has since come out as a supporter of Duterte,[35] expressing concern that the latter, like himself,[29][36][37] might be driven out of office by whom he had referred to years earlier as the "rich and perfumed".[38] Ultimately, Duterte's rise to power has come to be seen as the "people's verdict" on both the failures of the liberal order and what has been felt as the glibness of its domestic elites.[31][39][40]

United Kingdom[]

The Liberal elite is referred to by various terms in British political discourse. Hampstead Socialist and Hampstead liberal have been used, referring to the North London area of Hampstead. Although the Conservatives represent all the council wards of the area, the wider constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn has often elected Labour MPs, including the 2015 incumbent, and the seats in Hampstead Town ward have previously been won by the Liberal Democrats.[citation needed]

The term Hampstead Socialist was regularly used by Nick Griffin, the former leader of the British National Party[41][42][43] and the phrase "North London metropolitan liberal elite" has been used by Home Secretary Priti Patel. Due to the high Jewish population of this area, references to "North London" elites have been accused by some, such as the Jewish Labour Movement, as a form of coded antisemitism.[44][45]

Another term that has gained currency is Islington set. Emily Thornberry, Labour Party MP for Islington South and Finsbury, resigned as a member of the Shadow Cabinet on 20 November 2014 during the Rochester and Strood by-election, in which she tweeted a picture of a house draped with England flags and a white van parked outside with the caption 'Image from Rochester', thought by many to be a snobby jibe. Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, commented that Thornberry's tweet furthers the perception that the Labour Party "has been hijacked by the north London liberal elite".[46][47][48]

United States[]

See also: Progressivism in the United States and Social liberalism in the United States

In the United States, the apocryphal lifestyle of the liberal elite is often referenced in popular culture. Columnist Dave Barry drew attention to these stereotypes when he commented, "Do we truly believe that ALL red-state residents are ignorant racist fascist knuckle-dragging NASCAR-obsessed cousin-marrying roadkill-eating tobacco-juice-dribbling gun-fondling religious fanatic rednecks; or that ALL blue-state residents are godless unpatriotic pierced-nose Volvo-driving France-loving left-wing communist latte-sucking tofu-chomping holistic-wacko neurotic vegan weenie perverts?"[49]

A 2004 political advertisement from the right-wing organization Club for Growth attacked the Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean by portraying him as part 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."[50]

Those Americans who equate intellectual pursuits and careers with elitism often point out American intellectuals, most of whom are upper-middle-class not upper-class,[51] are primarily liberal. As of 2005, approximately 72% of professors identify themselves as liberals. At Ivy League universities, an even larger majority, 87% of professors identified themselves as liberals.[52] People with post-graduate degrees are increasingly Democratic.[53][54][55][56]

In Thomas Frank's 2004 book What's the Matter with Kansas?, the idea of a liberal elite is compared to George Orwell's character Emmanuel Goldstein in the 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.[57]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Duterte's own party, PDP–Laban, had nevertheless itself been at "the forefront of many of those [EDSA I] demonstrations carrying yellow flags with the word[] LABAN and faced water cannons, police batons and threats of arrests".[20] Sara Duterte Carpio has argued that, despite claims to the contrary by high-ranking members of the Catholic Church hierarchy—in particular, Archbishop Sócrates Villegas—her father had indeed appreciated the significance of the 1986 revolution right from the beginning.[21] Duterte Carpio recounted, "On the evening of Feb[ruary] 25, 1986, I was playing in dreamland when my father interrupted my slumber and told me to get dressed because we ha[d] to go downtown [to the metropolitan cathedral]," adding that, "While we were huddled in the car, he told us, 'Remember this night. Do not forget it.'"[21]

References[]

  1. ^ Frost, Amber A'Lee (November 2019). "The Characterless Opportunism of the Managerial Class". 3 (4).
  2. ^ "Speaking as a member of the liberal metropolitan elite…". Daily Telegraph. 8 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014.
  3. ^ Chakelian, Anoosh (13 June 2014). "'The party's been hijacked by a metropolitan elite': Labour MP Simon Danczuk". The New Statesman.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Progressive Elites Hate the Middle Class". 29 April 2012.
  5. ^ Silber, N. F. (2019, July 1). Why we're socialists, not "progressives". Jacobin. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/07/socialism-progressives-liberalism
  6. ^ Hedges, Christopher Lynn (7 December 2020). "The Collective Suicide of the Liberal Class". Scheer Post.
  7. ^ "Canadians say country split between ordinary folks and elites. But what is an elite?". CBC. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  8. ^ "The brother of infamous Toronto mayor Rob Ford is running for office — and he sounds a lot like Trump". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  9. ^ "The brand image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in international context". ResearchGate. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  10. ^ Shekhar Gupta. "Saving Indian liberalism from its left-liberal elite". India Today. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  11. ^ Contreras, Antonio P. (1 February 2020). "Labels and Political Tagging".
  12. ^ Pedrosa y Navarro, Carmen (4 December 2015). "Duterte's Charisma". Philippine Star.
  13. ^ Swaine, Michael [@Dalzell60] (3 May 2021). "Your job is to defend your nation's interests by using diplomacy, not the language of a school boy. This is embarrassing for you and your country" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Webb, Adele (9 September 2016). "He May Have Insulted Obama, but Duterte Held Up a Long-Hidden Looking Glass to the US". The Conversation.
  15. ^ Molo, John (7 May 2020). "How a Death in Manila Led to the Fall of a Media Giant". Rappler.
  16. ^ Chúa, Michael (16 November 2019). "Bayan vs. the Elite". Manila Times.
  17. ^ Angsioco, Elizabeth (19 July 2014). "Politics of the Color Yellow". Manila Standard.
  18. ^ Magsalin, S. (2020, March 31). Towards an anarchism in the Philippine archipelago. Southeast Asian Anarchist Library. https://sea.theanarchistlibrary.org/library/simoun-magsalin-towards-an-anarchism-in-the-philippine-archipelago-en
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Doronila, Amando (28 August 2006). "Time for paradigm shift". Philippine Daily Inquirer. pp. A1.
  20. ^ Cruz y S., Elfren (16 August 2017). "Story of LABAN". Philippine Star.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nawal, Allan; Alconaba, Nico (25 February 2017). "Sara Duterte Fires Back: My Father Understood Spirit of EDSA".
  22. ^ Bello, W. F. (2016, June 29). The left under Duterte. Jacobin. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/walden-bello-philippines-duterte-dignidad-coalition-akbayan/
  23. ^ Contreras, A. P. (2019, April 23). Rodrigo Duterte as counter-ideology to elite liberal politics. Manila Times. https://www.manilatimes.net/2019/04/23/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/rodrigo-duterte-as-counter-ideology-to-elite-liberal-politics/543817/
  24. ^ Mydans, Seth (5 February 2001). "'People Power II' Doesn't Give Filipinos the Same Glow". The New York Times.
  25. ^ "7 Years after Ouster, Erap Bares 5 Conspirators". 12 March 2008.
  26. ^ La Viña y Maestrado, Antonio Gabriel (18 May 2013). "Rejecting Elitism in Philippine Elections". Rappler.
  27. ^ Robles, Alan C. (22 November 2000). "A Joke of a Presidency". Hot Manila.
  28. ^ Àger, Maila (1 December 2015). "Rodrigo Duterte Is like Joseph Estrada, Donald Trump —Lawmakers".
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b "Duterte Is Right, Estrada Insists". Manila Standard. 23 October 2016.
  30. ^ Time (magazine)
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b Chúa, E. (2020, August 29). The end of liberal democracy in the Philippines. Lausan Collective. https://lausan.hk/2020/the-end-of-liberal-democracy-in-the-philippines/
  32. ^ Escalona, Kim Ashley (19 July 2018). "Duterte's War on Tongues". New Mandala.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b Liu, C. (2021). Virtue Hoarders: The Case against the Professional Managerial Class. University of Minnesota.
  34. ^ Tuazon, Glenn (2015). "The Eraserheads for and against the Masses". Manila Review. ISSN 2423-2971.
  35. ^ Gonzales, Yuji Vincent (12 October 2016). "Erap Backs Duterte: PH Can Stand on Its Own Feet".
  36. ^ Docena, Herbert (26 August 2017). "Why Duterte Has to Be Ousted, and Why Even That Won't Be Enough to Defend Ourselves". Rappler.
  37. ^ Bello y Flores, Walden (26 August 2020). "The End of Duterte: Four Ways the Philippine Strongman Could Fall". Foreign Policy in Focus.
  38. ^ Cruz y H., Neal (31 January 2012). "Estrada Talks about His Impeachment Trial".
  39. ^ Oliveros, Benjie (29 August 2015). ""Well, You Are Still Alive, Aren't You?" and Other Inane, Contemptuous Statements, Acts". Bulatlat.
  40. ^ Bello y Flores, Walden (24 June 2016). "How Neoliberalism Killed the Philippines' EDSA Republic".
  41. ^ Helen Pidd, northern editor (25 May 2014). "Nick Griffin concedes European parliament seat as BNP votes fall away | Politics". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  42. ^ "British National Party". Bnp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  43. ^ Waterfield, Bruno. "BNP's Nick Griffin defends jailed leader of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  44. ^ Frot, Mathilde (2 October 2019). "JLM lambasts Priti Patel for 'North London metropolitan liberal elite' comment". Jewish News. Times of Israel. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  45. ^ Hardman, Isabel (1 October 2019). "Priti Patel turns her back on Theresa May's legacy at the Home Office". Coffee House. The Spectator. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  46. ^ "The metropolitan elite: Britain's new pariah class". The Guardian. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  47. ^ "Emily Thornberry: How one tweet led to her resignation - BBC News". BBC.co.uk. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  48. ^ Michael Rundell. "Political incorrectness gone mad: the myth of the metropolitan elite". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  49. ^ Barry, Dave (19 December 2004). "An Off-Color Rift". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  50. ^ Tierney, John (11 January 2004). "THE 2004 CAMPAIGN; Political Points". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  51. ^ Thompson, W. & Hickey, J. (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Pearson.
  52. ^ "Kurtz, H. (29 March 2005). College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds. The Washington Post". 29 March 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  53. ^ "Election Results 2008". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  54. ^ "CNN. (1996). Exit Poll". Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  55. ^ "CNN. (2004). Exit Poll". Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  56. ^ "CNN. (2008). Exit Poll". Retrieved 12 October 2008.
  57. ^ Thomas Frank, What's the Matter with Kansas?, Henry Holt & Company, ISBN 978-0-8050-7774-2

Further reading[]

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