Giving something back? Sentiments of privilege and social responsibility among elite graduates from Britain and France

Abstract

This article explores the complex relationship between transnational elites and civil society through examining the contrasting orientations of two cohorts of 'elite graduates' from Paris and Oxford. Both cohorts believe their privileged status has been earned through hard work and ability. But they are also aware that they have benefited from advantages not available to all. Perhaps because of this, they express the need to 'give something back'. However, the means through which they seek to discharge their social responsibilities are very different. While the Oxford graduates seek to 'give something back' through volunteering and third sector engagement, the Paris graduates will 'give something back' through public service. The article discusses how the contrasting relationship between the state, civil society and the education system in these two countries may shape dispositions, and speculates on the extent to which these elite recruits' commitment to 'give something back' will make a difference.

Deservedness, humbleness and chance: conceptualisations of luck and academic success among Singaporean elite students

“…Similar to the findings of earlier research on elite students, the Singaporean students oscillated in attributing their success to luck on the one hand, and hard work or discipline on the other (Brown et al, 2016;Power et al, 2016). For example, it was not uncommon for them to discuss chances in relation to strategic choices they have made, or effort they have put in to convert these opportunities into realisations, like in this extract below:…”

“…The sociological interest for researching elite education has grown in recent decades, a period marked by widening inequality across many developed countries (Karabel, 2006;Khan, 2012;van Zanten, 2018). Previous research has illustrated how elite students tend to emphasise their own merits and virtues as attributes for academic success (Brown et al, 2016;Power et al, 2016). Conversely, upwardly mobile students are more likely to attribute their movement in space to chance, luck and serendipitous forces (Atkins, 2017;Reay et al, 2009).…”

Gloomy at the Top: How the Wealthiest 0.1% Feel about the Rest

“…For instance, growing inequalities create anxiety and status-seeking among not only the poor but also the rich (Paskov et al, 2013; Salverda and Grassiani, 2014; Salverda and Hay, 2014; Sherman, 2017; Wilkinson and Pickett, 2009). The wealthy may feel compelled to give something back (Power et al, 2016) or fear falling into a lower class (Aarseth, 2017) because of the growing pressures they face at the top (Davis, 2017; Warde, 2011: 481). Yet, only a few empirical studies have explored wealth elites’ emotional experience – how they feel about themselves and other groups in society (Hecht, 2017; Sherman, 2017) and how these feelings help them to justify their position.…”

QUESTIONING the SUPER-RICH

“…A key theme in this regard has been agency, with scholars noting the exaggerated degree of influence and "hyper" agency ascribed to and mobilized by the super-rich (Maclean, Harvey, and Kling 2017). Whether it be in regard to decisions to close themselves off in gated communities (Pow 2011), to engage in charity work or public service (Power et al 2016;Schimpfössl, this issue), or to partake in research that may actually be critical of them (Gilding 2010), research underlines the super-rich's capacity to choose on their own terms. Agency clearly overlaps with mobility (see Butler and Lees 2006 and Webber and Burrows 2016 on the local impacts of mobility) but also with the performance of everyday life, as studies of the consumption and leisure habits of the super-rich suggest (e.g., Marroun, Wilkinson, and Young 2014; Spence 2014).…”