Belief and reality - Why do we deny elitism exists?

JUST as the majority of humanity once believed that our world was flat, that the colour of your skin or sexual orientation was an indicator of your humanity or character; just as the Catholic church — and far too many other religions — thought it was perfectly acceptable to suppress those who disagreed with them by barbecuing them alive, we have convinced ourselves that elitism is redundant.

We have, despite all of the everyday, in-your-face evidence, convinced ourselves of the universality of man, that we are all the same and that elitism has no place in a modern, inclusive democracy.

Of course this is a denial of reality on a par with those ancient maps of the world that ended at a wave-crashed cliff, where sailing ships toppled into the unknown and the baffled cartographer could be no more helpful than to warn us “there be unknown monsters and spirits lurking there”.

The reality is that elitism, just like slavery, is more prevalent today than at more or less any period in human history. The gap between rich and poor is widening every day

Just a week ago very many of us were asked to vote for the children of politicians of all hues, as if democratic office might be hereditary. Many were unsuccessful but many more were elected. Surely getting on politics’ inside track from birth is a form of elitism? There may be nothing wrong with it but surely there is more to it than an inherited disposition to serve democracy? The same must be said of many more professions, vocations or businesses.

Yesterday we saw elitism gone mad when Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for nearly €100 million. Even in a time when bank chiefs defend €1m-plus “compensations” for retiring early — jumping before they are pushed — Ronaldo’s €94m is so disproportionate as to be an affront to the vast majority of humanity, to many of whom struggle to keep a roof — sometimes one they don’t even own — over their heads.

Ronaldo may be a wonderfully gifted and beautiful athlete — even if more than a tad delicate — but €100m? Even though he is as much a commodity as an iPhone it seems more than a bit askew to suggest that his achievements and talents will ever make a contribution to the world that justifies such fabulous rewards.

Many believe Ronaldo can sign a €100m deal to play football because that is what the market will pay. And we are the market. The people who buy the sweat-shop-produced team shirts for our children, who subscribe to increasingly expensive television channels and who seek refuge from a grim world in the fantasy all sports bring. It does seem strange though, in a society just finished celebrating Charles Darwin’s anniversary, that we like pretend the elitism does not exist.

One of the more strident manifestations of this argument is that we should not fund fee-paying schools as if that would neutralise the advantages comfortable parents can bestow on their children.

We correctly spend huge sums, maybe not even enough, on trying to help the weakest in our educational system but very little on challenging or extending our most gifted children. Why? Surely if the weak need help to realise their potential the gifted might too? Maybe we don’t fund courses that might challenge the very brightest schoolchildren because we are afraid of being accused of being elitist. That accusation never bothered Alex Ferguson and that is one of the reasons he is so successful and why Ronaldo is laughing all the way to the bank.