Is there a global super‐bourgeoisie?

Cousin, Bruno; Chauvin, Sébastien

doi:10.1111/soc4.12883

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 127 publications

(86 reference statements)

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“…In many ways, the elite communities of Australia and Sweden are similar, illustrating the common observation that elites are transnational rather than national today (see Cousin and Chauvin, 2021;Howard and Maxwell, 2021;Pow, 2011).…”

Section: A Comparative Analysismentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Hence, access to objectified cultural capital consecrate elites both externally and internally. The fact that the phenomenon is characteristic of both the Australian and Swedish communities is but a testimony to the transnational expression and importance of objective cultural capital in elite communities for their standing and prestige locally as well as globally (see Cousin and Chauvin, 2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elite Communities and Polarization in Neoliberal Society: Consecration in Australia’s and Sweden’s Wealthy Neighbourhoods

Holmqvist

Wiesel

2022

Critical Sociology

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‘Elite communities’ are the areas where the wealthy, and even ‘superrich’, live, socialize and raise their children as future economic and financial elites; they are the places where a few lead socially and economically privileged lives. Earlier studies have concentrated on the inner dynamics of these settings, focusing on the way residents are constructed and socialized as elites through their social, communicative and aesthetic abilities that are perceived as exemplary in contemporary neoliberal society. In this paper, we broaden the perspective, by exploring how these areas contribute to polarization, that is, how they generate distinctions based on money, morals and manners that are peculiar to neoliberalism’s idealization of ‘entrepreneurship’, ‘self-management’, ‘leadership’ and the pursuit of an ‘active lifestyle’. Our data come from two major ethnographic studies: one conducted between 2010 and 2015 of Sweden’s wealthiest community, Djursholm, that is populated by the country’s business and financial elites; the other conducted between 2016 and 2019 of three of Australia’s most prestigious and economically privileged suburbs, Toorak (Melbourne), Mosman (Sydney) and Cottesloe (Perth).

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Section: A Comparative Analysismentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elite Communities and Polarization in Neoliberal Society: Consecration in Australia’s and Sweden’s Wealthy Neighbourhoods

Holmqvist

Wiesel

2022

Critical Sociology

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“…Accordingly, it has become necessary to ask whether business elites and the wealthy are taking off from their national frameworks (Cousin & Chauvin, 2021;Hecht et al, 2020).…”

Section: The Rise Of Unpolitical Sentiments and The Wealth Elitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpolitical solutionism: Wealth elite sentiments against democracy and politics

Kuusela

Kantola

2023

British Journal of Sociology

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The last few decades have been marked by discourses that challenge many basic presumptions supporting liberal democracy. Populist parties in particular have raised criticism against democratic systems, and authoritarian programmes have made electoral gains. This article offers the elite's perspective on this phenomenon, which is often discussed in the context of lower income groups. Drawing from qualitative interviews with 90 Finnish top earners, the article shows how wealth elites sustain strong discontent towards liberal democracy and see it as an ineffective and sometimes fundamentally flawed system. They are concerned with its alleged (in)efficiency and disagreements typical of democratic processes and are correspondingly fascinated by solutions that are presented as self‐evident but that no one has the courage to execute. In this article, we refer to this type of reasoning by introducing and developing the term unpolitical solutionism, which refers to a preoccupation with quick solutions to complex problems that are political in nature. The concept of unpolitical solutionism builds on discussions of unpolitical democracy (Urbinati) and technosolutionism (Morozov) and brings them to our dialog. By analysing wealth elites' views in a Nordic democracy and by developing the concept of unpolitical solutionism, this article contributes to recent discussions on different forms of unpolitical argumentation in the context of (liberal) economic thinking.

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“…Market technologies restrict access to these goods to a hand-picked clientele. Some luxury boutiques select customers at the entrance, stadiums have VIP areas and airlines have private lounges, while private clubs are only accessible to members (Cousin and Chauvin, 2021). These access restrictions maintain the social distance between consumers of these products and others.…”

Section: Business Models Values and Consumers' Dispositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does affluent consumption come to consumers? A research agenda for exploring the foundations and lock-ins of affluent consumption

Dubuisson-Quellier

2022

Consumption and Society

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In the context of the calls for sufficiency held by climate experts, consumption is a major lever of ecological transition. Following numerous social sciences studies, I suggest that the belief that such an ecological transition could rest on the shoulders of consumers alone is illusory. I highlight the strong interdependencies within a political economy of affluent consumption between public policies, corporate business models and consumer practices. Taking an economic sociological and Foucauldian perspective, I develop a research agenda to explore how affluent consumption becomes a legitimised and institutionalised norm. Affluent consumption, which is highly resource intensive, is structural in both economic policies of governments and business models of companies and is therefore constantly organised and governed. However, it is not imposed on individuals by force. The government of consumption is based on technologies of power that shape and orient consumers’ conduct, leading them to adopt the norms of affluent consumption by activating and playing on their dispositions acquired through market socialisation.

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Is there a global super‐bourgeoisie?

Cited by 23 publications

References 127 publications

Elite Communities and Polarization in Neoliberal Society: Consecration in Australia’s and Sweden’s Wealthy Neighbourhoods

Elite Communities and Polarization in Neoliberal Society: Consecration in Australia’s and Sweden’s Wealthy Neighbourhoods

Unpolitical solutionism: Wealth elite sentiments against democracy and politics

How does affluent consumption come to consumers? A research agenda for exploring the foundations and lock-ins of affluent consumption

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