Privilege Camouflage: How Economic Elites’ Offspring Sustain the Myth of Meritocracy

• In Event: 40860 - Section on Economic Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 4. Structural inequalities

Abstract

As economic inequality widens, contemporary economic elites increasingly confront a crisis of legitimacy. In response, they often invoke meritocratic principles to justify their privileged social status. However, little research has explored how their offspring—whose inherited privileges appear to conflict with meritocratic ideals—navigate these criticisms. Drawing on 14 in-depth interviews with the children of China’s wealthiest 1%, this paper examines how they respond to threats to their legitimacy. A key finding is the identification of a social strategy termed privilege camouflage, through which beneficiaries of systemic inequality make their advantages less visible. By adopting this strategy, elites’ offspring obscure their privileges and realign themselves with meritocratic ideals. The findings suggest a shift among elites from seeking distinction to adopting a low-profile approach in response to growing criticism, a countermovement that ultimately renders inequality reproduction less visible and harder to address.

Author

• Fan Fu, University of California-San Diego