Elitism

[[File:The onion elitist.jpg|thumb|right|165px|How it happens, according to [[The Onion]].]]{{politics}}
{{cquote|He eats a hamburger with Dijon mustard… That was yesterday, [[Barack Obama]] had a hamburger. I don't know what he may do today to prove — [[Other|to pass for human.]]|||Mark Steyn on Mustardgate, ''[[Rush Limbaugh|The Rush Limbaugh Show]]'' 5.7.09<ref>Hananoki, Eric, [http://mediamatters.org/research/2009/05/07/dijon-derangement-syndrome-conservative-media-a/149946 "Dijon Derangement Syndrome: Conservative media attack Obama for burger order"], Media Matters (May 7, 2009 4:49 PM EDT).</ref>}}
'''Elitism''' is the perpetuation of the values of an "'''elite'''."

"Elite" can refer to two groups:  
#Those who want to maintain a self-perpetuating [[oligarchy]]'s [[social]]/[[political]]/[[economic]] domination.
#The small group consisting of the best of the best in a given field.

A depressingly ''large'' number of people cannot distinguish between the two meanings, probably due to [[anti-intellectualism]].

As the term is most often used, it is a silly misnomer. When somebody calls someone else an "elitist", it means that the accuser views the accused as being "high and mighty", "snobbish", or generally having a holier-than-thou attitude (see also [[yuppie]]). It's also often attached to the term "[[liberal]]" (i.e. "those liberal elitists want to [[Gun control|take away my guns]] and [[homosexual agenda|make my kids gay]]"). In reality, most people who are termed "elitists" are actually very [[education|well-educated]] and more [[knowledge]]able about the subject in question than an average Joe. In this sense, it is also used as a [[snarl word]] by anti-intellectuals.

However, some people prefer to act like complete dicks, and have a superiority complex [[Delusions of grandeur|without actually having any formal basis to back it up]] (see [[Adolf Hitler]]). These people are [[asshole]]s rather than elitists, because being termed an "elitist" in the above context implies that you actually ''do'' have a legitimate reason to be part of the elite.

Aside from all that, elitism can also refer to a group of people who consider their aligned cultural leanings to be superior based on subjective preference (leading to such irritating phenomena as fanboyism).

==Examples==
*Many people see [[Medicine|medical doctors]] as elitists. This is because doctors spent 10-14 years learning what they do; they have a legitimate reason to act as part of the elite in regards to what they do. This is also true of [[scientist]]s, [[lawyer]]s, and [[NASA|space explorers]].
*Rich people are often seen as elitist. This overlooks all the skill and ingenuity it takes to [[Nepotism|be born into wealth]] or [[Crime|get away with criminal behaviour]] or [[Capitalism|exploit employees]].

==See also==
*[[Aristocracy]] - An [[Oligarchy|oligarchic]] form of government based on (often hereditary) elitism.
*[[Asian values]] - An idea based on elitism.
*[[Dunning-Kruger effect]] - "The effect occurs where people fail to adequately assess their level of competence — or specifically, their incompetence — at a task and thus consider themselves much more competent than everyone else." - the page itself
*[[Populism]]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

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[[Category:Jargon]]
[[Category:Political philosophies]]
[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:Misnomers]]

Categories: Jargon, Political philosophies, Political terms, Misnomers