ABSTRACT
International capital plays an essential role in the reproduction of the dominant classes. A combination of language skills, familiarity with travel and ease in relations with foreigners, it is indispensable for access to dominant positions in contemporary societies. This chapter analyses how this international capital is transmitted within families during childhood. Compared to previous works on this issue, it proposes two shifts. The first is to focus not on aristocratic or high bourgeoisie but on “ordinary” upper-middle-class families. Today, in connection with the increasing internationalization of the labour market, a growing number of parents seek to provide their children with international capital, even in upper-middle-class families that do not belong to the elite. The second shift is to focus on the early years of life. While several works have studied the formation of international capital in youth, this chapter shows that the transmission of this capital begins in early childhood.
The analyses are based on in-depth interviews in 13 French families where parents are engineers, executives, business managers, physicians, etc., and have a child aged 5. These interviews were conducted during a collective research project devoted to inequalities between social classes in early childhood.
