{"product_id":"born-to-rule-the-making-and-remaking-of-the-british-elite-9780674304246","title":"Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e, Best Books of 2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e, Best Ideas Books of 2024 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA uniquely data-rich analysis of the British elite from the Victorian era to today: who gets in, how they get there, what they like and look like, where they go to school, and what politics they perpetuate. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAre Britain's power brokers a conservative chumocracy, born to privilege and anointed at Eton and Oxford? Or is a new progressive elite emerging with different values and political instincts? In search of answers, Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman scrutinized the profiles of over 125,000 members of the British elite from the late 1890s to today. At the heart of this meticulously researched study is the historical database of \u003ci\u003eWho's Who, \u003c\/i\u003e but Reeves and Friedman also mined genealogical records, examined probate data, and interviewed over 200 leading figures from a wide range of backgrounds to uncover who runs Britain. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e What they found is that there is less movement at the top than we think. Yes, there has been some progress on including women and Black and Asian Brits, but those born into the top 1 percent are just as likely to get into the elite today as they were 125 years ago. What \u003ci\u003ehas\u003c\/i\u003e changed is how elites present themselves. Today's elite pedal hard to convince us they are perfectly ordinary. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Why should we care? Because the elites we have affect the politics we get. While scholars have long proposed that the family you are born into, and the schools you attend, leave a mark on the exercise of power, the empirical evidence has been thin--until now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eReeves, Aaron:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Aaron Reeves is Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics. An award-winning sociologist who has written extensively on social inequality, he is coeditor of the \u003ci\u003eBritish Journal of Sociology\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFriedman, Sam:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Sam Friedman is Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the coauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged\u003c\/i\u003e and author of \u003ci\u003eComedy and Distinction: The Cultural Currency of a \"Good\" Sense of Humour.\u003c\/i\u003e He is coeditor of the \u003ci\u003eBritish Journal of Sociology\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"Belknap Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52158608703762,"sku":"9780674304246","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8985a2a6-9ee6-4120-9124-41bfc833de90.jpg?v=1774969160","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/born-to-rule-the-making-and-remaking-of-the-british-elite-9780674304246","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}