In this unique work, Cesar Calejon offers a simple and objective explanation to understand how social inequalities were formed and how they are reproduced in contemporary Brazil.
In "Esfarrapados, " Cesar Calejon unravels in detail the cultural and historical mechanisms that explain how elites were formed, how they act to dominate society, and how they manage to maintain their position of command and exponentially increase their economic gains. To understand how these dynamics of exploitation occur, the author introduces us to the concept of "historical-cultural elitism." This is a social force that organizes social arrangements based on categories of distinction, creating a grammar of inequality and, ultimately, a moral hierarchy that governs the sociopolitical and socioeconomic functioning of a community.
Cesar Calejon argues that the roots of historical-cultural elitism have been present in human societies since ancient times, even before the Agricultural Revolution. The author takes us through time and demonstrates how his concept applies to different societies at different historical moments, highlighting the Age of Exploration and the advent of the Industrial Revolution as springboards that radically intensified this elitist zeal. Thus, we arrive at contemporary Brazil, where expressions of historical-cultural elitism—racism, sexism, misogyny, LGBTQIA+phobia, ableism, and viralism, among others—have consolidated themselves as permanent forms of cultural domination and underpin our tradition of segregating, excluding, and stigmatizing minorities, as practiced by authoritarian Brazilian ideologies such as Bolsonarism.
Finally, the author explains how debates on natural determination and cultural studies help us understand how these ideological constructions of superiority are disseminated. And, most importantly, how these well-established power structures can be dismantled to identify the real problems that must be overcome for social inequality to be eradicated once and for all.
“Fundamental reading so that we have a kind of self-awareness of the historical moment in which we are immersed.” - Fernando Haddad
"In addressing elitism and inequality, Cesar Calejon speaks against the grain of an era that praises the marking of difference, considering it the result of theological reasons – such as divine grace – or as a corollary of meritocracy – demanding payments to the supposedly more capable or stronger. Therefore, sailing against the current, these pages are a testament to resistance and hope in criticism." - Alysson Leandro Mascaro
