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The Dynamics of Inequality and Habitus Formation: Elias, Bourdieu, and the Rise of Nationalist Populism
Die Dynamiken von Ungleichheit und Herausbildung von Habitus: Elias, Bourdieu und der Aufstieg des nationalen Populismus
[journal article]
Abstract
This article deals with the dynamics of social inequality and social stratification from a historical-sociological perspective. It purports to clarify basic problems in this field with the help of insights developed by sociologists Norbert Elias and Pierre Bourdieu. I systematically compare both thi... view more
This article deals with the dynamics of social inequality and social stratification from a historical-sociological perspective. It purports to clarify basic problems in this field with the help of insights developed by sociologists Norbert Elias and Pierre Bourdieu. I systematically compare both thinkers’ ideas on the dynamics of inequality, pointing out similarities and divergences, and critically discuss them. After a summary of basic notions in their work, the paper deals subsequently with the reproduction of inequality in connection with habitus formation; changes in inequality structures over time - more specifically, trends of de-creasing inequality (functional democratisation) and increasing inequality (functional de-democratisation); and the causal connections between changes in inequality structures and changes in habitus, mentality, and ideology. The final section of the paper focuses on a current issue: the emergence of populism in contemporary Western societies. On the basis of the preceding argument, I advance a tentative explanation of the rise of nationalist populism in the context of tendencies of increasing socioeconomic inequality.... view less
Keywords
populism; Bourdieu, P.; Elias, N.; power; social stratification; habits; social inequality; social class
Classification
Social History, Historical Social Research
General Sociology, Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Sociology, Sociological Theories
Free Keywords
power resources
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 22-42
Journal
Historical Social Research, 42 (2017) 4
Issue topic
Changing Power Relations and the Drag Effects of Habitus
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.42.2017.4.22-42
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed