When Elites Push Equality on Their Rivals, It’s Strategy — Not Principle

Elites publicly push less‑prestigious rivals to adopt more egalitarian or participatory forms — community policing, citizen journalism, prediction markets — not out of principle but because those forms weaken the rivals' status and competitive position. The same elites then exempt their own institutions (elite universities, mainstream media) from the constraints they demand of competitors, revealing a strategic use of equality rhetoric. — This reframes many equality or participation reforms as potential tools of status competition, changing how regulators and the public should evaluate calls for 'inclusion' coming from established elites.