Elitism is the belief that some people are more capable than others, whether by birth or by will. In general, people stay far away from elitism.
Elitism does not require that you believe that some people have less intrinsic worth or potential than others. It merely means that you recognize the fact that some people do more with their potential than others.
Some wish that everyone were the same. They conflate our equal opportunity from God with equal outcomes. God has said over and over that all his truth is available to any and everyone just as soon as they exercise the required heed and diligence. In other words, you are fully in control of what you receive from God.
All men have equal privilege:
Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden. (2 Nephi 26:28)
But all men do not equally exercise the opportunity given them by God:
4...while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.
5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren.... (Alma 13)
Elite people are exceptional only because they do exceptional things. While there are certainly natural differences between people—that is, differences due to birth—these are significantly overshadowed by differences in what we choose. A person who chooses to practice piano five hours a day for years will be better than any person with natural aptitude who doesn’t practice.
Almost every large company’s productivity follows the 80/20 rule: 20% of the people produce 80% of the benefit. When someone among the 80% doesn’t do a good job, not much noticeable difference in output occurs. Output is much more sensitive to those who are making outsized contributions. If the salesperson who closes 10-100x the normal volume goes on vacation, sales will take a noticeable plunge. What if that salesperson believed they were average? How would the company fare? How would that change the resources available for each of the many people in the 80% segment? This is at least as true in society as it is in work.
Differences in output will be observable in any sufficiently large set of humans. That can’t change without force, and force can never yield a changed heart.
Many avoid entertaining a belief in elitism in order to avoid the responsibility or guilt that comes with it. Elitism challenges your pride: if some people are exceptional, why aren’t you ? Elitism challenges your worth: if you could be elite, why aren’t you?
If it is possible to be elite, but you are not, you are either willingly abdicating what you could do, or you are less than those who are elite. Neither conclusion is appealing to the natural man, but neither conclusion ought to occur.
Elitism can cause negative outcomes. It can be twisted and used as an excuse for some to control others. It can cause differences in outcomes that hurt the feelings of those who produce less than others.
Even with its drawbacks, elitism is an indisputable fact. It is reality. Ignoring what is true does not change reality.
It is wrong to think that only situations without drawbacks can be optimal. The question should never be whether something is perfect, but whether it is worth it. A belief in elitism is indisputably worth it. Those who could do more will never do more without first believing they can. All improvement of which they are capable lies beyond where they currently are, which is the permanent bound of the belief that we are all the same. We aren’t.
If you are willingly abdicating what you could otherwise do, you ought to stand up and achieve your potential. No matter who you are, people need you to rise up to your potential. No matter who you are, there are specific people who will suffer unnecessarily if you do not rise up to your potential. No matter who you are, you will never have peace as long as you are living less than how you know how.
Even if you retain the belief that you are not capable of doing great things, you should embrace elitism, as it provides you with the hope that those who are elite will do for you what you can’t do for yourself. After all, what person would be upset that they have friends that can help them move things that are too heavy for them to carry themselves?
Some are scared of thinking themselves elite. That is understandable. In believing that being exceptional is up to you, you assume a massive weight of responsibility, as we are each responsible for the good we could have done.
For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation. (D&C 82:3)
Some are scared of what others might think if they live their potential. That is understandable. Other people are, by definition, normal. The more you live up to your potential, the more different from them you will be. You will be misunderstood, misjudged, and persecuted. But the very things that make you different will be what helps others encounter more joy themselves.