Pierre
Bourdieu looked at how the cultural elite convince the rest of society that
they are special, and how this keeps them in power Bourdieu's theory on
consumption holds that people consume to show their social status. Bourdieu also
did work on Capital, but found the economic definition too narrow.
Bourdieu said you cannot become rich overnight: you need to accumulate capital.
Three forms: Economic capital. This is defined by property rights. Cultural capital. It is connected to knowledge, and takes three forms: Embodied
knowledge (knowledge that is a part of you), objectified form (things people
use to furnish their living environment) and institutionalised form (titles,
diplomas). Social Capital. Resources that you can mobilise by knowing
someone. The three forms of capital can be interchanged, but sometimes there
are barriers. People show their differences in capital: Distinction. Bourdieu
also coined the idea of Habitus. It connects action and structure: laws
of fields are inscribed into human agents (Structured), but they are
responsible for reproducing these laws (Structuring). It defines your
future choices. In his book, Distinction, Bourdieu tried to measure the class
struggles. He found a relationship between social class and taste, and how this
permeates all aspects of people’s lives (see habitus). The elite have accumulated
cultural capital over time and have a higher cultural competence (ability
to understand works of art). Nowadays, class differences are smaller, and
high-brow culture has been popularised. The concepts he used are still valid
though.
See summaries of Bourdieu's work:
Pierre Bourdieu – The Historical Genesis of the Pure Aesthetic - summary and reviewSuggested reading on Bourdiue:
