Search

This paper proposes a methodology for using survey data to understand the composition of elites, through analysing the pool of potential members. An occupational-based measure of ‘potential power elite’ (PPE) is created and compared with other measures of occupational advantage. It is argued that this measure can be utilised to explore if the processes causing certain social groups to be under-represented in elite positions are around selection or the population recruited from. We provide analysis of elite positions in the UK and Sweden, demonstrating differences in terms of the potential pool of elite members and the occupational histories of people of those employed in roles associated with elite recruitment. We argue that understanding the composition of the PPE provides a more nuanced analysis of the processes of meritocracy in accessing positions of power and social influence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the perceived loss of power among academic elites from London School of Economics, as well as the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, in Great Britain in the post-World War II period, arguing that while such cultural elites lost direct government influence, their sphere of influence as a metropolitan formation remains. Topics considered include the quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization known as the the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and its non-departmental public body of the Arts Council of England, social network analysis of board membership of the Arts Council, intellectual elites, American sociologist Edward Shils, and British intellectual historian Lord Noel Annan.