The Ruling Elites- How They Justify Their Role

Historically the discussion surrounding the question of ideology has often focused on its capacity to dominate and legitimate. While these qualities attributed to ideology are important themes to consider, they need to be discussed in relation to the problem of elite or ruling-class cohesion. Ideology is not simply about influencing the public. It also provides the ruling class and elites with a narrative that can justify their privileged status and right to rule. Ideology provides the medium for developing a common view of the world.  It offers a grammar of meaning and language and rules through which members of the elite can arrive at a shared understanding and communicate with one another.

Numerous observers believe that in the contemporary era, the ideology that justifies the privileged status of the ruling elites is a mixture of neo-liberalism and meritocracy. An example of this type of ideology is that of the cognitive elite, which Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray outline in their widely debated, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life [i]. Yet, the claim that an aristocracy of talent runs society tends to provoke resentment and hostility and can, therefore, not be used too explicitly to legitimate class domination. It is widely understood that claiming authority based on intellectual or, indeed, any form of superiority is likely to provoke resentment. Even the idea of a meritocracy is criticised on the ground that it breeds resentment amongst people who did not make the grade. That is why cognitive privilege tends to be refracted through a narrative of expertise and professionalism. This way, a claim to authority can be asserted and maintained by grounding it in professionalism and expertise.

How the so-called cognitive elite has sought to gain and maintain its authority is by instrumentally applying science to the problems of morality, politics and culture. Scientism purports to apply scientific principles to the domain of human behaviour, value and morality. Its advocates believe that they possess the insight necessary for curing the diseases of culture and for producing a new, enlightened, aware citizen. In this way, they have established a corporate identity as The Aware. They implicitly claim that they possess the authority to decide what that awareness means. Through wielding this cultural power, they strive to bring people’s inner life and consciousness under their control.