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

Publikation: KonferencebidragKonferenceabstrakt til konferenceForskningfagfællebedømt

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.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
Publikationsdato2017
StatusAccepteret/In press - 2017
BegivenhedRhetoric Society of America 2018: Celebrating the Past. Building the Future - Minneapolis, USA
Varighed: 31 maj 20183 jun. 2018

Konference

KonferenceRhetoric Society of America 2018
LandUSA
ByMinneapolis
Periode31/05/201803/06/2018

ID: 186526605