“Class racism”: elitist representations on the poor and poverty in Brazil

Abstract

The article analyzes the “class racism”, following the formulation proposed by Jessé Souza, produced by “Brazilian elites” in their representations about the phenomena of the poor and poverty. In the first part, we proceed to a sociological foundation of the notion of class racism, based on the works of Pierre Bourdieu and Norbert Elias. In the second part, we analyze the class racism à brasileira, that is to say, the peculiarities assumed by class racism in Brazil. It is argued that class racism is constituted as a reaction of the elites to the rise to certain spheres of consumption by the poorer segments of the Brazilian population, especially the batalhadores. In the third part, we properly analyze some manifestations of class racism disseminated in the media – whether by journalists or anonymous manifestations produced directly by members of the elites. It is demonstrated that class racism operates an association between poverty and vagrancy, lack of intelligence, and the absence of distinct and civilized modes of conduct. Finally, we propose the concept of “arcane poverty”, understood as the phenomenon of exaltation of the signs of poverty and of concealment of its origins, defending the need of a relational analysis for the phenomena of poverty-wealth.