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The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power

ISBN: 978-0-745-60824-2

November 1996

Polity

504 pages

Description
In this major work, Bourdieu examines the distinctive forms of power - political, intellectual, bureaucratic and economic - by means of which contemporary societies are governed. What kinds of competence are claimed by the bureaucrats and technocrats who administer our societies? And how do those who govern come to gain the recognition of those who are governed by them?

Bourdieu examines in detail the work of consecration which is carried out by the educational system - and especially in France by the grandes écoles. The work of consecration can be seen in operation in different historical periods, whenever a nobility is produced. Today the socially recognized groups function according to a logic similar to that which characterized the divisions between high and low in the ancien régime. Today this state nobility is the heir - structural and sometimes even genealogical - of the noblesse de robe which, in order to consolidate its position in relation to other forms of power, had to construct the modern state and the republican myths, meritocracy and civil service which went along with it.

Bourdieu examines the mechanisms which produce the kind of nobility displayed by those who govern, and the recognition granted to them by those who are governed by them.

About the Author
Pierre Bourdieu was Professor of Sociology at the Collège de France.
Features
  • Bourdieu is one of the foremost social thinkers in the world today
  • This major new work examines the forms of power by means of which contemporary societies are governed, giving particular attention to the role of elite schools in preparing individuals for the reigns of power
  • It employs the distinctive methods and concepts for which the author is well-known.