Shamus Khan on Inequality and the Elite

Jon Smajda on January 9, 2011

This week we talk with Shamus Khan about his new book Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School. One the one hand, elite social institutions—such as St. Paul’s—have opened up to women and minorities in recent decades, but on the other hand, inequality has increased and wealth is more concentrated now than since the 1920s. What explains this apparent contradiction between increasing openness yet rising inequality? Khan draws on his experiences as a student and then researcher at St. Paul’s to help answer this question.

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Comments 2

Adnan Malik — January 19, 2011

I like Prof Shamus Rahman Khan's thought provoking writings on cultural and social inequalities. I hope his first book 'Privilege' will catch up well.

« Dow v. Deficit Outpost19 — January 26, 2011

[...] The Society Pages, an online sociology journal, Khan talks in an audio interview about how privileges are preserved and wealth is more concentrated despite increased openness at [...]

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