Black Mafia, Loggies and Going for the Stars

The Military Elite Revisited

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3370110
AutoresKeith Macdonald (autor de correspondencia)
Año2004
Volumen52
Número1
Páginas106-135
Fecha de publicación2004-02-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-954x.2004.00444.x
OpenAlexW2160364220
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas24

The connection between a Public School education and the British Army officer corps has often been presented as an example of a self-perpetuating elite, with little by way of theoretical explanation. This paper aims to explicate these matters by reference to Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and field and to extend the empirical work of earlier studies by looking at the nature of army organization structure, the place of particular regiments within it, and the relative success of officers from different regiments in gaining promotion to general. Inter-regimental competition plays a key role in allowing the reproduction of privilege within the military, and testifies therefore to the importance of organizational structures. The shorthand conclusions of earlier studies that 'the elite is maintained' can be replaced by analysis and explanation, which suggest that the alignment of public school habitus and military field will ensure that (other things being equal) this state of affairs will be slow to change. The property assets of the upper middle class allow their offspring to acquire at public school the cultural assets that will enable them to succeed in a military career. This in turn give access to organizational assets and economic rewards that will enable them to provide the next generation with their cultural assets. 'It's a way we have in the Army, 'It's a way we have in the Navy, 'It's a way we have in the Public Schools, Which nobody can deny!' 1

Cultural capital · Elite · Habitus · Navy · Political science · Politics · Privilege (computing) · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts