PSYC 331 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Mechanical Equilibrium, Industrial Revolution, Meritocracy

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 331
• Professor: Donald Taylor

Document Summary

Elite theory: elites: people with the highest indices in their branch of activity. In social change, one elite is replaced by another (social inequality is constant) Where the elite is open, circulation is in terms of individuals. Where closed, circulation is in terms of groups: i. e. talented members of the non-elite will form counterelites and mobilize the non-elite. A dynamic theory: the focus is on change. Who are the elite: definitional issues. We cannot predict which group you will compare yourself with. Kind of theory that none of us want to admit that it makes a lot of sense. It says that you take any group of people and you will for sure see the development of a hierarchy: there would be a small group that will become the elite, the leaders. You have a vertical structure of group: that is the natural thing that humans do. The ideal of an equalitarian society is non sense.