Pierre Bourdieu argued that class advantage is passed on not only through money but through taste, manners, and know-how—'cultural capital'. Knowing which fork to use, how to speak in an interview, which art to admire: these quiet competencies open doors and signal belonging.
He paired this with 'habitus': the deep, bodily dispositions we absorb from our upbringing, so that class becomes second nature—shaping how we walk, speak, and even what we find beautiful. Because these advantages look like personal merit rather than inherited privilege, inequality reproduces itself while appearing fair. Bourdieu helps us see the invisible rules that make some feel at home in institutions and others perpetually out of place.