Born To Rule: The Making And Remaking Of The British Elite

A 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.

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 emerging with different values and political instincts?

Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman combed through a trove of data in search of an answer, scrutinizing the profiles, interests, and careers 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 Who’s Who, but Reeves and Friedman also mined genealogical records, examined probate data, and interviewed over 200 leading figures from a wide range of backgrounds and professions to uncover who runs Britain, how they think, and what they want.

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 has changed is how elites present themselves. Today’s elite pedal hard to convince us they are perfectly ordinary.

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.

'Thank God for Friedman and Reeves, sociologists at the LSE and Oxford University respectively, who run a superbly dispassionate scalpel through Britain’s upper crust to expose the cultural interests, political views and social origins of the 21st-century elite…[they] tell a compelling story of cultural change…[this is] a book rich in insight, data and original thought. Connoisseurs of hypocrisy and self-delusion will find much to savour too.' - The Times

'A very good new book…authors Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman…have done fascinating work on the family backgrounds of current cabinet and shadow cabinet members and arrived at some remarkable findings.' - The Guardian

'[Reeves and Friedman] describe how their country’s elites have changed since the 19th century, becoming cleverer and better at presenting themselves as ordinary. The book, flush with research, including more than 200 interviews, is superb.' - The Economist

'Leaning on the historical database of Who’s Who, the mining of genealogical records and probate data as well as interviews with more than 200 figures, …[this book] is a rigorous and meticulously researched study of Britain’s elite' - Financial Times

'Through their analysis of schooling, hobbies and background from Who’s Who, a questionnaire of several thousand of its living members, and deeper interviews with several hundred more, Friedman and Reeves have built up an impressive longitudinal study of the British upper crust…[this book] is an important attempt to take the measure of our new and evolved elite…the achievement of this fascinating book should be to spark a broader reconsideration of our new ruling caste.' - New Statesman

'Reeves and Friedman present…unarguable statistics, expertly packaged for dinner-table deployment…[this book] is ultra-quantitative yet admirably lucid.' - Literary Review

'A remarkable and timely contribution to our understanding of the British ruling class, showing the ways in which elite reproduction has changed (or not) in the past century, and the mechanisms that these elites use to legitimise their position…one of the most important contributions to date to the study of the British elite, and more than that – by virtue of its empirical design – to the broader research agenda of elite composition and reproduction.' - London School of Economics Review of Books

'Superb…Born to Rule…track[s] the pseudo-egalitarian drift of the modern establishment…Those in power have never been keener to signal their relatable, meritocratic credentials.' - The Times

'[A] timely and important book. [Reeves and Friedman] sketch the political, cultural, and economic context for their subject with skill…The great strength of this book is the diversity of angles from which the authors come at their subject…[and] the achievement here is a uniquely textured and detailed deep dive into a sociologically concrete élite.' - Australian Book Review

'Pundits and politicians talk about ‘elites’ but rarely make a serious effort to say what or who they mean. What do we actually know about this mysterious species, other than that it flocks to cocktail parties? …[This book] is an evidence-based answer to that question and a richly interesting one…[The authors] tell a fascinating story about how our elites have changed in composition, outlook, and interests — and in how they choose to present themselves to the world.' - The Ruffian

'What on earth are you meant to do when analysing a known unknowable such as class? Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman have come up with an arresting solution to this conundrum, by crunching 125 years of that great Bible of British snobbery—Who’s Who…[this book] is an exhilarating and revelatory picture of the British establishment…[the authors] prefer to prosecute a big argument—and hunt down every last scrap of data to test it and flesh it out. The result is a book that tells you something interesting on every page.' - Prospect

'[This book] is that rarity, an academic blockbuster that is also a good read. Its appeal is partly in the subject matter: who gets to be Top…[the authors] have some interesting things to say about an inherently interesting subject, and some very interesting things to report about how they found out.' - Inside Story

'Incorporates meticulous research in genealogical records, probate documents, databases, and more…this engaging book is a deep-dive analysis of the British elite.' - Library Journal

'“Likely to remain an important source of material for sociologists, political scientists and policy makers for a long time because of the intense analysis and insights into an important part of society.' - Scottish Legal News

SPECIFICATIONS:

Author:Aaron Reeves, Sam Friedman - Аарон Ривз, Сэм Фридман

Publisher:Harvard University Press

Language:English

Publication Date:2024

Number of pages:328 pst

Format:Hardcover

Width:156 mm / 6,1'

Height:235 mm / 9,3'

Weight:676 g

ISBN:9780674257719