Introduction

The revival of interest in elites and elite education follows directly from the exposure of the market fantasies that led, yet again, to concentrated wealth among the few and expropriated means from many. That such revelations come as a surprise to some, especially those reaping benefits from financial speculation and corporate interests, is a function of capitalism's amnesia. After all, the global recession that has dogged many nations since 2008 was foreshadowed by the implosion of regional economies in south-east Asia, Russia and Latin America. Argentina's spectacular decline in late 2001, for example, saw almost half the population fall into poverty. Many beneficiaries of the neoliberal 1990s came undone. But others retained and expanded their wealth as the economy upturned after 2003 thanks largely to a boom in agricultural exports. Much like any primary-producing economy, Argentina's corporations’ successes had roots in the provinces and, within a few years, corporate elites took full advantage of forgetful capital quickly reassembling.

This chapter outlines some of the ways that these corporate elites shore up their social position, by cultivating educational opportunities that maximise local and global currencies of knowledge. In the study of elite education there is a need to define the ways in which the elites being examined employ specific policies – formal and informal – to ensure success for their students and their social class. Much like Anyon's observations more than three decades ago, recent scholarship in the field consistently shows how corporate elites are reproduced with assistance from elite schools. Students learn a range of skills and behaviours that are well suited to success in tertiary education environments as well as in the halls of financial and governmental power.