The Elite and Me

Are you a member of the elite? Likely, if you are reading this, you, too, are part of this club.

Scott Rasmussen of RMG Research defines the American elite as those who:

• Have a postgraduate degree

• Earn $150,000+ annual income

• Live in a high density urban residence

Rasmussen adds that you are a supercharged elite if you also earned a degree at a top 12 university. On paper I’m a supercharged almost-elite. (Almost? I looked it up; in Orlando my density per square mile is a little over 5,000 people rather than 10,000.)

Rasmussen’s research defines and polls this class of people to demonstrate the profound gap in views between the elite and the general population. The elite’s views on society, politics, social ills, the environment, education, and the economy are more divergent from mainstream America than ever before.

The gap between the elites and the general populace are surprisingly wide:

• 41% of elites think US citizens have too much freedom from government control while 57% of the general population think people do not have enough freedom. 69% of supercharged elites think Americans have too much freedom.

• 41% of the general population approved of President Biden’s leadership while 82% among the elites approved. 75% of elites felt better off financially after Biden took office; 20% of ordinary Americans agreed.

• 72% of elites favor banning gas cars, and over half agree with banning gas stoves, non-essential air travel, air conditioning, and SUVs.

I guess I’m not, after all, of the elite.

Over 50% of the people on corporate and philanthropic boards, and in media companies come from one of the top 12 schools. They carry tremendous power both in how they shape their institutions and how they shape the country’s narrative. Before Amy Coney Barrett was lifted up to the Supreme Court, the last justice not to have a degree from one of the top 12 schools was Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1967.

If you, indeed, fit Rasmussen’s definition of elite and share the views noted in this data, I hope you know you are welcome here. I hope you would agree with this exhortation to all of us:

Christian, whether elite or not, we have a better way in Jesus.

Christians have in Jesus and the Biblical witness three course-correcting principles for this statistical abyss.

1. Bottom Up Renewal

Craig Greenfield, fellow author, notes clear ways Jesus sought bottom up renewal rather than top-down dominance.

• Mary sings her prophetic Magnificat over the in utero Jesus specifically noting His bottom up approach to change: “He has brought down rulers from their thrones and raised up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with nothing.” (Lk 1:52-53)

• Jesus breaks the law engaging in civil disobedience to make his points and affiliates with supposed ‘deplorables’ (Mark 2:15, 23; Luke 5:29-32)

• Jesus teaches an upside-down economic ethic (Luke 3:10-11; 19:9)

• In spite of Jesus teachings on non-violence (Matthew 5-7) he dies the death of a criminal

Jesus wasn’t an elite and so neither do I want to be one.

How do I lay down my cultural power and build his kingdom through relationships, personal witness, service to the vulnerable, and the pursuit of justice?

2. Diverse Christian Experts Needed

Rasmussen notes he is not anti-elite, and that great expertise is needed from our best and brightest to tackle many of the difficult issues in society. I concur.

However, it is the echo chamber and myopia of many elites that is the concern, and their leadership of major institutions in directions at odds with the citizenry.

Paul and Pentecost are helpful guides. Paul is an elite, educated in the best of Greek rhetoric, logic, philosophy and more. He trained as a rabbi in the School of Gamaliel, the Princeton of rabbinical schools. No wonder God equips him to write culturally defining texts like the New Testament.

At Pentecost an outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) comes through the rubes of the day (the Galileans; Acts 2:7) upon a panoply of peoples and language groups. The masses and the experts both receive the grace of God, His mercy, and call to be His people in the world.

3. Strategic Growth Among Elites for the Sake of the Gospel

Just a few decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Paul stands on Mars Hill, the epicenter of Greek philosophy, witnessing to Christ. Philemon is a wealthy man whom Paul leads to faith, and both Jesus and Peter witness to Roman Centurions, powerful men. The church needs and God has provided for the advancement of the Gospel among the elites, and notably the institutions they lead.

The Christian is not to shun the elite, but embraces all God’s children. May we be wise with our ever-widening public square and ever-deepening echo chambers, and lead in the way of Jesus.

So let me ask you: where do you actually stand? Not on Rasmussen’s chart, but in your instincts. When you look at the world, do you move toward control or toward trust? Toward distance or toward presence? I am trying to learn from people who see this clearly. If you are one of them, or if you know someone who is, I’d like to hear from you. Who is helping you resist the pull of elite distance and recover a more faithful way of seeing the world?

Comment below, or send me an email: case@casethorp.com