NSmolenskiFan on Nostr: The shift of the American working class from the Democratic to the Republican Party ...
The shift of the American working class from the Democratic to the Republican Party in this last election, and the outrage it has generated among many leftist American academics, has led me to reflect on why so many academics become strong socialists or even communists, while the vast majority of the American “working class” do not.
They would likely call it “false consciousness” on the part of the American worker. By I see it as false consciousness among elites: they *do not recognize that they are elites,* and that their social status motivates them differently from how the typical American worker is motivated. In short, there is a difference between economic *class* (being a “worker”) and social *status* (being an “elite”). In this I am convinced that Peter Turchin’s structural-demographic theory continues to have explanatory power. (I won’t go into that here, but do check out his work.)
Socialism and even communism carry strong appeal for a specific kind of highly educated, young elite today: the kind that needs to work for a living, but still sees itself as elite. These are not “white collar workers;” they are “precarious elites.” They are subject to a dynamic that few want to talk about:
Some of the worst labor exploitation in this country occurs in so-called “prestige industries.” These include education (higher and lower), entertainment, journalism, publishing, art, philanthropy—even, on the higher-paid end, investment banking and other financial services.
You want to help a celebrity launch a new brand or product? Prepare to make $35,000 a year and work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing countless frenzied tasks that have nothing to do with your job description.
You want to teach philosophy at a University? Get ready to make $17,500 a year, if you’re lucky. If you’re an international graduate student, your visa to stay in the U.S. is also completely contingent on your advisor’s approval; as a result, abuse is rampant.
You want to write for The Atlantic or The New Yorker? You can maybe get a few hundred bucks per article as a freelancer; $60K per year as a staff writer, if you’re lucky.
You want to become a powerful banker? You may start at $150K per year right out of college, but you will work 80-120 hours a week at the expense of everything else in your life, no telling how long—certainly for years. Your mental and even physical health are the price you pay for this “opportunity.”
These are the jobs that children of elites want. They want these jobs so much that they are willing to subject themselves to highly fragmented, authoritarian, and toxic work environments, with such high turnover, particularly of junior workers, that it’s socially a war of all against all. These jobs are different from working at a factory or an established company—there is a “musical chairs” dynamic, authority is exercised arbitrarily and chaotically, the job tasks can change daily and even moment to moment, most relationships are based on dominance/submission, and there is no “solidarity.” Employers believe it’s a “privilege” for anyone to have these jobs, and that therefore no one in them has the right to complain. Their refrain: “There are always 100 more candidates ready to take your place.”
In addition, there is the psychology of being an elite: you expect to be treated better by virtue of your education and social status, so it can be shameful to admit that you are being abused and might need to fight for better working conditions. Young elites may even want to organize and collectively bargain, but they don’t know how—they’ve been carried along by their social status in extremely authoritarian and chaotic environments and may never have really built anything with others over time.
For many young precarious elites, therefore, socialism becomes a kind of dream of not only of a good workplace but of a good society—one where they get what they believe is their “due.”
They would likely call it “false consciousness” on the part of the American worker. By I see it as false consciousness among elites: they *do not recognize that they are elites,* and that their social status motivates them differently from how the typical American worker is motivated. In short, there is a difference between economic *class* (being a “worker”) and social *status* (being an “elite”). In this I am convinced that Peter Turchin’s structural-demographic theory continues to have explanatory power. (I won’t go into that here, but do check out his work.)
Socialism and even communism carry strong appeal for a specific kind of highly educated, young elite today: the kind that needs to work for a living, but still sees itself as elite. These are not “white collar workers;” they are “precarious elites.” They are subject to a dynamic that few want to talk about:
Some of the worst labor exploitation in this country occurs in so-called “prestige industries.” These include education (higher and lower), entertainment, journalism, publishing, art, philanthropy—even, on the higher-paid end, investment banking and other financial services.
You want to help a celebrity launch a new brand or product? Prepare to make $35,000 a year and work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing countless frenzied tasks that have nothing to do with your job description.
You want to teach philosophy at a University? Get ready to make $17,500 a year, if you’re lucky. If you’re an international graduate student, your visa to stay in the U.S. is also completely contingent on your advisor’s approval; as a result, abuse is rampant.
You want to write for The Atlantic or The New Yorker? You can maybe get a few hundred bucks per article as a freelancer; $60K per year as a staff writer, if you’re lucky.
You want to become a powerful banker? You may start at $150K per year right out of college, but you will work 80-120 hours a week at the expense of everything else in your life, no telling how long—certainly for years. Your mental and even physical health are the price you pay for this “opportunity.”
These are the jobs that children of elites want. They want these jobs so much that they are willing to subject themselves to highly fragmented, authoritarian, and toxic work environments, with such high turnover, particularly of junior workers, that it’s socially a war of all against all. These jobs are different from working at a factory or an established company—there is a “musical chairs” dynamic, authority is exercised arbitrarily and chaotically, the job tasks can change daily and even moment to moment, most relationships are based on dominance/submission, and there is no “solidarity.” Employers believe it’s a “privilege” for anyone to have these jobs, and that therefore no one in them has the right to complain. Their refrain: “There are always 100 more candidates ready to take your place.”
In addition, there is the psychology of being an elite: you expect to be treated better by virtue of your education and social status, so it can be shameful to admit that you are being abused and might need to fight for better working conditions. Young elites may even want to organize and collectively bargain, but they don’t know how—they’ve been carried along by their social status in extremely authoritarian and chaotic environments and may never have really built anything with others over time.
For many young precarious elites, therefore, socialism becomes a kind of dream of not only of a good workplace but of a good society—one where they get what they believe is their “due.”