Gymkhanas All

Privilege will never go away. Because it’s pure human instinct. But it’ll take interesting forms 

Privilege means getting special treatment that other people do not get. One kind of privilege is being able to say “no” to people in power.

Imagine the government wants to build a new highway. Thousands of farmers give up their land. But one farmer refuses. Many people may call that bravery. But being brave enough to stand up to authority is also a kind of privilege. Not everyone feels safe enough to do it.

Sometimes privilege is very obvious. Rich or powerful people may skip long security lines or get into famous clubs that ordinary people cannot join. These advantages are not available to everyone.

But privilege is not only about money or status. Think of the man who stood in front of tanks during the protests in Tiananmen Square in China. He was not rich or powerful. Yet he had something rare: the courage to resist. Courage like that can be powerful because most people are too afraid to challenge authority.

History shows this again and again. In old Russia, poor farmers called serfs quietly accepted cruel treatment from rich landowners. But later, many ordinary people rose up and destroyed the old system. The same thing happened during the French Revolution. Often, it starts when a few brave people show others that unfair power can be challenged.

Still, when most people talk about privilege, they mean unfair advantages. Kings, priests and nobles have enjoyed special treatment for thousands of years. Ancient Egypt did not build giant pyramids to honour ordinary workers. Powerful people have almost always received more comfort, respect and control than everyone else.

Why does privilege exist? Partly because people are selfish. In a world where there is not enough of everything for everyone, people try to protect advantages for themselves and their families. Privilege can help people get better seats, better services and more influence.

The strange thing is that even people who hate privilege often want it for themselves. After revolutions in places like France, Russia, Cuba and Iran, the new rulers also became powerful and privileged. Old elites disappeared, but new elites took their place.

Privilege keeps going because people want to pass advantages on to their children. A good school, a powerful job or important connections can help one family stay ahead while others are left behind. In this way, privilege becomes like a big “No Entry” sign blocking newcomers.

So should privilege exist? Probably not. But can we ever completely get rid of it? Probably not either. Old kinds of privilege may disappear, but new ones almost always rise to replace them.