Introduction

• Published in: Focaal 2018-06, Vol.2018 (81), p.1-15
• Main Authors: Gilbert, Paul Robert, Sklair, Jessica
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0920-1297; 1558-5263
• DOI: 10.3167/fcl.2018.810101

Anthropological interest in critical studies of class, system, and inequality has recently been revitalized. Most ethnographers have done this from “below,” while studies of financial, political, and other professional elites have tended to avoid the language of class, capital, and inequality. This themed section draws together ethnographies of family wealth transfers, philanthropy, and private sector development to reflect on the place of critique in the anthropology of elites. While disciplinary norms and ethics usually promote deferral to our research participants, the uncritical translation of these norms “upward” to studies of elites raises concerns. We argue for a critical approach that does not seek political purity or attempt to “get the goods” on elites, but that makes explicit the politics involved in doing ethnography with elites.