The rise of white-collar socialists: ‘A lot of tech workers are working class’

How Americans define who is working class may have more to do with economic anxiety than income or education levels.

A recently surfaced survey of Democratic Socialists of America members showed that 13% were white-collar workers, down from 21% in 2017 but up from just 3% in 2013. In addition, 9% worked in the tech sector in 2021, though comparable figures weren’t available for prior years.

That’s more than blue-collar workers, who made up just 4% of members in 2021 versus 3% in 2017 and 2% in 2013. Other categories similarly saw narrow gains or were virtually flat. Retail, food and other service sector workers accounted for 6% of members in 2021, up from 2% in 2013.

Among respondents 25 years old or older, more than 80% had bachelor’s degrees. And while 45% of respondents had household incomes below $60,000, 28% earned $100,000 or more.

Of course, the numbers may be less of a reflection of working-class Americans overall and more descriptive of the DSA specifically

But Zohran Mamdani’s stunning win in New York City’s mayoral race last year and democratic socialists’ election gains this year have........

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