Establishment

The term establishment has several meanings:

"The Establishment"

"The Establishment" is a pejorative term used in Western societies to refer to the controlling (elite) structures and majority values of those societies. The "establishment" is often said to be holding a lock on wealth and political power. Mostly est. is used as its abbreviation. The WASP's, old boy network, or good ol' boy network (in the Southern United States) have roughly the same connotations.

Related Topics:
Pejorative - Western societies - Elite - Wealth - WASP - Old boy network - Good ol' boy network - Southern United States

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An "establishment" is often understood to compose an elite group of wealthy, influential families, many of whom are involved in politics and business. They are often friends with one another, or at least very involved in and aware of each others' affairs. As a result, they are expected to be a generally cooperative group that works together to maintain a status quo that most favours their interests.

Related Topics:
Politics - Business - Status quo

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In the 1960s and 1970s, the "establishment" was seen as representing restrictive, authoritarian policies. It was associated with age, as the old fashioned way of doing things, and was said to be dominated by members of the war generation who had not yet adapted to or accepted the big societial changes of the decade. In the 1980s, conservative critics (particularly in America and Britain) began to assert that liberals had become the new "establishment".

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970s - Authoritarian - War generation - 1980s - Conservative - America - Britain - Liberals

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There may be different establishments within different institutions. For example, candidates for political office are often said to have to impress the "party establishment" in order to win endorsement.

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Sociologically, one who does not belong to the "establishment" is an "outsider" - see Norbert Elias, The Established and the Outsiders (1965), and Scientific Establishments and Hierarchies (ed. with others) (1982).

Related Topics:
Sociologically - Norbert Elias

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