Scott Greer writes opinion at Highly Respected, today about the main group supporting Zohran Mamdani for NYC's mayor. He calls them the "lumpenbourgeoisie," which he defines thus.
These are middle-class types who feel thwarted in some way. Some may have decent jobs, but still struggle to pay rent living in NYC or another big city. Others are NEETs (not in employment, education, or training) who live with their parents and have no job at all. They think they will not obtain the level of security as their parents, and they don’t see much of a path to advance. They may have a college degree, but it’s no ticket to the American dream.
We have overproduced college graduates, presuming there would always be a market for all of them. Our presumption was incorrect, and current developments in artificial intelligence (AI) will only make the situation worse.
Thousands major in the arts where there will be, at best, hundreds of jobs, and that only in a good year. Tens of thousands more major in psychology, a field in which there are zero jobs for baccalaureate holders. Ditto sociology and anthropology. All are interesting, none have a bachelors career track.
Greer concludes:
The Left can count on the nothing to lose types to rally to its causes. Most lumpenbourgeoisie aren’t deranged enough to join Antifa. They’re simply young, middle-class Americans who feel the American dream is denied to them. If any kind of revolution happens in America, they will be its vanguard.
I may have unwittingly been a contributor to the overproduction of college grads, although when I retired most of my students got white collar jobs, many with good firms. Hat tip to Zero Hedge for the link.
