The discourse of elite vs. people in a social welfare society

Lisa Storm Villadsen

The discourse of elite vs. people in a social welfare society

Institut for Kommunikation

Abstract

Denmark is known as a social welfare society with a very high degree of social trust and an even higher ranking in happiness ratings. Nevertheless the classic populist topos of ‘elite’ versus ‘people’ has entered public Danish discourse in recent years. This paper explores how and where the notion of ‘the elite’ has emerged and attempts to establish its meaning and the rhetorical work its used to perform. In particular, I examine a recently published book by a Social Democractic member of the Danish Parliament bearing a title that translates to: “The Tyranni of the Educated – How the Creative Class Creates Inequality and Undermines the World’s Best Society”. I then discuss examples of public discourse that seeks to challenge the notion of the elite and its negative connotations and discuss their prospects of succeeding in this endeavor in a summarizing theoretization of rhetoric’s potential as a source for resisting populist discourse.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Publikationsdato	2017
Status	Accepteret/In press - 2017
Begivenhed	Rhetoric Society of America 2018: Celebrating the Past. Building the Future - Minneapolis, USA Varighed: 31 maj 2018 → 3 jun. 2018

Konference

Konference	Rhetoric Society of America 2018
Land/Område	USA
By	Minneapolis
Periode	31/05/2018 → 03/06/2018

Citationsformater

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N2 - Denmark is known as a social welfare society with a very high degree of social trust and an even higher ranking in happiness ratings. Nevertheless the classic populist topos of ‘elite’ versus ‘people’ has entered public Danish discourse in recent years. This paper explores how and where the notion of ‘the elite’ has emerged and attempts to establish its meaning and the rhetorical work its used to perform. In particular, I examine a recently published book by a Social Democractic member of the Danish Parliament bearing a title that translates to: “The Tyranni of the Educated – How the Creative Class Creates Inequality and Undermines the World’s Best Society”. I then discuss examples of public discourse that seeks to challenge the notion of the elite and its negative connotations and discuss their prospects of succeeding in this endeavor in a summarizing theoretization of rhetoric’s potential as a source for resisting populist discourse.

AB - Denmark is known as a social welfare society with a very high degree of social trust and an even higher ranking in happiness ratings. Nevertheless the classic populist topos of ‘elite’ versus ‘people’ has entered public Danish discourse in recent years. This paper explores how and where the notion of ‘the elite’ has emerged and attempts to establish its meaning and the rhetorical work its used to perform. In particular, I examine a recently published book by a Social Democractic member of the Danish Parliament bearing a title that translates to: “The Tyranni of the Educated – How the Creative Class Creates Inequality and Undermines the World’s Best Society”. I then discuss examples of public discourse that seeks to challenge the notion of the elite and its negative connotations and discuss their prospects of succeeding in this endeavor in a summarizing theoretization of rhetoric’s potential as a source for resisting populist discourse.

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