Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite

by Aaron Reeves, Sam Friedman

A uniquely data-rich analysis of the British elite from the Victorian era to who gets in, how they get there, what they like and look like, where they go to school, and what politics they perpetuate.

Think of the British elite and familiar caricatures spring to mind. But are today’s power brokers a conservative chumocracy, born to privilege and anointed at Eton and Oxford? Or is a new progressive elite emerging with different values and political instincts?

Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman combed through a trove of data in search of an answer, scrutinizing the profiles, interests, and careers of over 125,000 members of the British elite from the late 1890s to today. At the heart of this meticulously researched study is the historical database of Who’s Who, but Reeves and Friedman also mined genealogical records, examined probate data, and interviewed over 200 leading figures from a wide range of backgrounds and professions to uncover who runs Britain, how they think, and what they want.

What they found is that there is less movement at the top than we think. Yes, there has been some progress on including women and Black and Asian Brits, but those born into the top 1 percent are just as likely to get into the elite today as they were 125 years ago. What has changed is how elites present themselves. Today’s elite pedal hard to convince us they are perfectly ordinary.

Why should we care? Because the elites we have affect the politics we get. While scholars have long proposed that the family you are born into, and the schools you attend, leave a mark on the exercise of power, the empirical evidence has been thin—until now.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, British Literature, Sociology, Society, Business

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2024

Reviews

[Alexandros Potapidis · Rating 3 out of 5]

How does British elite look like? How is it formed over the last 125 years? What connections and similarities does it have? How does it think and what is its normative and ideological currency? But most importantly who is the elite and how has it evolved? These are the main questions this study, in the form of research, attempts to answer with some surprising findings that go beyond the cliché that the elite are the rich.

The authors conducted a 7-year long research into the lives of British elite. Their reference work is the almanac Who Is Who which samples biographical data about noteworthy British citizens since the 1880s. The researchers analysed this data, complementing it with their own indepth analysis of living elite samples in the form of questionnaires and interviews, and attempted to answer three main questions that guide their ontological convictions.

Who is the elite?
This wasn't just a theoretical exploration of the type of people who end up in elite positions. By identifying certain traits and positions of power and influence can create a distinct group that decides policy and takes decisions that affect millions. The type of society we live in is a reflection of the elite we have. A typical representative of the British elite comes from affluent background, especially where their family belongs to the top 1% of the wealth distribution level, has attended the so called Clarendon private school setting (the most prestigious private schools of the country), and studied in either Oxford or Cambridge.

Affluence means more opportunities to succeed in life because it offers the freedom that is associated with risk taking. Having financial security allows individuals to explore their potential, test new endeavours, fail in prospective jobs, and eventually offers them the chance to fall back to the family wealth if things don't go the right way. Private schooling cultivates a sense of entitlement, academic excellence, highly valued forms of knowledge, and a distinct elite identify, shaping attitudes, tastes, and lifestyles. Later on in Oxbridge students are socialised in an environment where clubs become socialite hubs incubating and building professional and personal bonds. This accumulation of social capital accentuates future social networks essential in elite formation. This, in a nutshell, is a typical elite sample.

How has elite changed over the years?
In the late 19th and early 20th century the elite was grounded in aristocratic roots with its idiocyncratic lifestyle. The decline of aristocratic wealth and the introduction of affluent professional classes brought new attitudes to high life, such as highbrow culture associated with reading, theatre, classical music, opera, etc. The authors find that the most significant change in elite classes over the years is their self perception. In the last few decades the elites do not see themselves as influential individuals, they downgrade their importance, and strive to exhibit an air of ordinariness and identify themselves as the common folk. Reeves and Friedman argue that this shame of elitism is a deliberate strategy to distract from the advantages they have vis-a-vis the working class, especially since elitism has become pejorative in the media and the social world more generally.

Why does it matter?
One of the main findings of the book is that the social class, economic position, schooling, gender, ethnicity, are all contributing factors and drivers of political attitudes, albeit in varying degrees. In other words, the elites we have indicate the politics and policy we get. For example, this study demonstrated that women are generally more left leaning than men, favouring social and gender equality. As the proportion of women in elite positions increases, this invariably will cause a shift toward more egalitarian policies. The same can be said about people of ethnic minorities background.

Despite the admittedly several limitations this study has, it can be said that it offers a rare insight into structured inequality and its mechanics. It also advocates for change in several areas, including school and university recruitment policies, along with tax regimes.

[Gary Holtzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. It is supposedly aimed at both sociologists and laypeople. I am among the latter, so I feel justified in rating it. I did enjoy it enough for a 3 star rating, but I suspect a reader with a stronger background in the field and greater comfort with charts and data would likely get more out of it.

[Anna Brewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK. However, I wasn't blown away. One problem was that I couldn't really tell who it was aimed at. It was just a little too dry, stats-heavy and story-less to be interesting for the layperson, but not quite analytically driven enough for a researcher. Moreover, I didn't find anything within it particularly radical or eye-opening. Sorry :(

[D McG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Signed up for an account (after years of use) because I simply had to review this book. This is a poorly written hit piece on who the authors claim are the “elites”, masquerading as science but frankly mostly just their own flimsy opinions. Meaningless text crammed in to reach enough pages to make a book. This reads like an undergraduate essay stretched way too far. Neither a good book or a good research paper. Avoid.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an interesting book and the lengths the authors go to to track down where elites come from is really impressive. It was a little dense in places but was also written in a very accessible way, and they have clearly tried to bring the reader along with them. But what it really did was gave me a way to understand something I have seen among many politicians - which is that they constantly talk about their family background and try to tell people that they are working class. The book gives a fascinating story about why the elite have changed much less than people might think.

[Conor]

I wouldn’t say I’m qualified to have an opinion on the methodology, but the book has reinforced my opinion of the danger of a self-reproducing elite. The earlier sections about the pre-WWII/post-war elites were fascinating. It shed a light on all the people, my best friend included, who qualify their status and mask the true extent of the leg up they received by virtue of being born to the right people at the right time and does so without moralising this all to human response to being called out as ‘not part of the group’. Despite the authors’ (what I would term sensible) recommendations to alleviate this problem, I am left with a sense of hopelessness at the thought that people like BJ and NF can make up this elite and still convincingly (to some) parade around as ‘heroes of the people’ against a phantom ‘woke’ elite that doesn’t exist - and if it did, it would be far less harmful to the ordinary person than their nastiness.

[Niloy Mitra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Sometimes it is hard to separate cause and effect; the authors discuss this under limitations in the book. Overall interesting trends have been flagged and discussed.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two of the books three sections provide the most detailed and in-depth quantitative analysis yet produced of who makes up Britain's "elite," and how they got there. Backed by copious numerical sources, these opening chapters resoundingly demonstrate the continuity there is in the main channels by which the children of the privileged easily move through their early and adolescent years into elite positions. In doing so they display the ways in the which the wealthy & powerful can put their fingers on the scales to ensure, even in a meritocratic system, that their children end up in positions of power just like them. 


Where the work falls short is in its last section where the authors attempt a qualitative analysis of the elites views and beliefs. They firstly misrepresent data to fit their own ideological preferences. This error is then compounded by trying to explore intra-elite views on the basis of sex & race, betraying their own views and consequently discounting other equally important categories such as religion, leaving this part of the investigation at best incomplete.


Ultimately these failings and bias' come together in a laughable final two pages of suggested reforms including: a wealth tax, having Oxbridge applications run as a lottery and replacing the house of lords with a chamber filled with randomly picked citizens.


On the merits of the first two sections alone the work is an important entry in the ongoing study of British society in the 21st century and it's prosopography of the contemporary elite is invaluable. If it had only stopped there it would've been great.

[Yusong Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute must-read. I was particularly impressed by how Sam and Aaron adopt a highly innovative approach to examining the concept of “being ordinary” as a form of capital. By placing it in conversation with social and cultural capital, they push readers to fundamentally rethink the idea of democracy in our time. The myth of meritocracy and democracy conceals the subtle yet persistent mechanisms through which elites reproduce themselves beneath the surface of society.

What makes this work so compelling is its ability to expose the invisibility of elite influence while demonstrating how it continuously shapes and controls the world we inhabit. Sam and Aaron challenge us to confront uncomfortable truths: the systems we often regard as fair and equitable may, in reality, serve to entrench inequality and privilege.

This is an exceptionally thought-provoking and illuminating book—one that is essential for anyone seeking to understand the structures of power and inequality that define our contemporary moment.

[Richard Bridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real must read to understand just how stacked the system in favour of the moneyed ‘elite’. Fascinating study on elites desire for ordinariness although perhaps there could have been a little more how incongruous those efforts seem (altho bizarrely that doesn’t seem to matter too much).

Really useful understanding of the compounded advantages of a Clarendon school education followed by an Oxbridge one. As well as an interesting and perhaps v mildly hopeful consideration of how more women and ethnic minority elites might even the system a touch.

I would actually have really enjoyed a bit more on the policy solutions which according to my own views, were spot on. But perhaps because the elites control the media, they rarely get air time even under a Labour administration that is not full of Oxbridge folk (but disappointingly seems to be acting much like their Oxbridge politician predecessors)

[Matthew White · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all readers curious about the notions of meritocracy and social mobility, this book is a must. In a world of political soundbites celebrating 'hard work', pluck or graft as the keys to success, the book shatters modern assumptions that class privilege is now a thing of the past. Instead, the authors uncover an unsettling truth: that though quick to shield themselves behind denial and pleas to low-born backgrounds, the privileged and wealthy in Britain have proved remarkably resilient in dominating the elite.

The datasets used for this book are particularly fascinating (Who's Who and song choices on Dessert Island Discs, for example), and warrant our full attention, representing a fresh approach in a busy research field.

Recommended!

[Szymon Woźniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit strange book. It definitely contains some interesting informations and insights but struggles to decide if it wants to be a regular book or a science paper. About 60 percentage of the book is written in a very dry language with lots of focus on methodology and pedantic descriptions of simple graphs. 40 percentage was a pretty nice read, especially interviews with people and associated comments. One star removed by suggesting to raise taxes in UK as a solution - without ever mentioning how existing tax money can be used more effectively, and bizarre solution of taking random people for governments and best universities without any tests.

[Rebeca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thorough research, well documented and explained, and it not only shows that the British elite is very endogamic but also explains how it affects to policies and the general public, and it suggests measures that could be taken to soften those effects. My reason for giving it 3 stars is because it reads more like a very long scholar paper and less like an engaging page-turner. The content itself deserves at least 4 stars.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, thoroughly researched and methodological nuanced study. I found the authors’ analysis insightful and compelling, shedding light on the mechanisms of elite reproduction. I thought their examination of the tension between elites’ claims to ordinariness and distinction was particularly interesting. A great read!

[Jared Barkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impeccably researched, effectively presented look at the British elite, and the confluence of factors preserving the power of those born into privilege. While concentrated on England‘s upper class, the findings are informative for the study of elites everywhere.

[Dani Fernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting exploration of the topic, enjoyed the early chapters that included accounts from pre and post war elites but overall didn’t provide anything particularly revealing or illuminating. Stats heavy but still accessible to casual readers/non researchers such as myself.

[Lisa of Hopewell]

I learned of this book via this post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesd...

[Diego Esteves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, showing not only how elites perpetuate their power but also how they see themselves.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting, very academic. 90% of the value I got from this book was in the introduction - I don't think I'm the target audience!

[I P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful on how to plan education for your children or career for yourself.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Für die Uni gelesen, bisschen fragwürdige Samplemethhode? Verständlich geschrieben, interessante Untersuchungen

[Richard McColl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intensely interesting academic look at power structures in Britain. Are things changing....somewhat, but very slowly.

[Valaya Gaudet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected better from a book that was reviewed by The Economist. Born to Rule contains interesting research, but the content is so dry that I skipped a good portion of it and went straight to the Conclusion. The parts that I did read left me unimpressed. A number of the so called upper class people interviewed for the book sound illiterate. The authors could also have used a good editor because they repeat themselves often. Boring and overrated.

[Paul Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of sociological research on the make up of the British Elite society. How it has changed in the mid 20th Century to now in the 21st.
Based on records from “Who’s Who”, “Desert Island Discs” and personal interviews.

And easy read that brings out clearly who gets into the Elite and how it is changing over time.

[Miss LM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book- a thought provoking study on the British elite. I recently saw that it has made the Economist’s top 10 politics books of 2024, and rightly so.