BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Born to Rule: the making and remaking of the British Elite - Prof 
 Sam Friedman and Prof Aaron Reeves\, London School of Economics
DTSTART:20250225T123000Z
DTEND:20250225T140000Z
UID:TALK227230@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:127819
DESCRIPTION:Think of the British elite and familiar caricatures spring to 
 mind. But are today’s power brokers a conservative chumocracy\, born to 
 privilege and anointed at Eton and Oxford? Or is a new progressive elite e
 merging with different values and political instincts? In this talk\, base
 d on our new book Born to Rule\, we comb through a trove of data in search
  of an answer\, looking at the profiles\, interests\, and careers of over 
 125\,000 members of the British elite from the late 1890s to today.  \n\nA
 t the heart of the study is the historical database of Who’s Who\, but w
 e also mined genealogical records\, combed through probate data\, and inte
 rviewed over 200 leading figures from a wide range of backgrounds and prof
 essions to uncover who runs Britain\, how they think\, and what they want.
  What we found is that there is less movement at the top than we think. Ye
 s\, there has been some progress on including women and Black and Asian Br
 its\, but those born into the top 1% are almost just as likely to get into
  the elite today as they were 125 years ago.  \n\nWhat has changed is how 
 elites present themselves. Today’s elite pedal hard to convince us they 
 are perfectly ordinary – in the way they tell their back story\, express
  their cultural taste\, or articulate their meritocratic legitimacy. And t
 his is logical\; we show that there is a strong symbolic market for ordina
 riness among the British public.  \n\nWhy should we care? Because the elit
 es we have affect the politics we get. We show that the family you are bor
 n into\, and the schools you attend\, leave a profound mark on the exercis
 e of power. 
LOCATION:Sociology Department Seminar Room\, Free School Lane
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR