the notion that a large percentage of jobs could be eliminated without reducing real economic value appealed to a lot of people. For less erudite and scholarly examples of leftist types who decry the idea of work, check out r/antiwork.

I admit that I’m not a scholar of the history of leftist thought, but this feels like a vibe shift compared to the ... See more

I also suspect that Americans feel that their society is a highly mobile one. John Steinbeck is often (mis)quoted as saying that “socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” But the flip side of this is that a lot of rich Americans see themselves ... See more