Why Do Some Wealthy Young People Support Socialism?

A man named Gustavo Gordillo is a leader in New York City's Democratic Socialists of America, a group that wants to change how money and power are shared in the United States. Gordillo, who is 38 and went to Yale University, lives in a townhouse in Brooklyn worth $1.5 million that his father paid for. Critics say it is hypocritical for a wealthy person to speak out against wealth. But his story raises a bigger question: Why do so many people who grew up with money choose to support socialist ideas?

Critics of Gordillo were quick to point out the contrast between his lifestyle and his political beliefs. A newspaper called the New York Post wrote about how he lives in an expensive home while speaking out against the rich. Gordillo said he left a job training program for electricians so he could spend more time working for his political group, calling it 'a difficult choice.'

Gordillo is not the only well-off person who has faced this kind of criticism. Graham Platner ran for a seat in the Maine Senate from a wealthy family, yet campaigned as a voice for ordinary workers. Another politician, Zohran Mamdani, ran for mayor of New York City with parents who are film producers and own a villa in Uganda, yet he also ran as a socialist. Critics called all of these men hypocrites for pretending to be something they were not.

These criticisms have grown louder because socialist candidates have been winning elections in the Democratic Party. Studies and polls show that many people joining socialist groups are white, college-educated, and comparatively well-off. One writer gave these voters the nickname 'Subaru socialists' — people with enough money for a decent car and a nice meal out, but who do not feel truly secure about their future.

In 1977, two writers named Barbara and John Ehrenreich came up with a name for college-educated workers in fields like teaching, medicine, law, and technology. They called this group the 'professional managerial class,' or PMC. These are people whose jobs often involve supporting the values of capitalism — the economic system built on private businesses and the free market.

For a long time, members of this professional class mostly supported the system they worked within. But a recent poll found that Democrats — whose party includes many PMC members — were almost twice as likely to view socialism favorably as capitalism. Among college-educated Democrats, support for socialism was as high as 71 percent, a huge shift from just a few decades ago.

Many people in professional jobs see problems every day that make them doubt the fairness of the system. Think about a teacher who buys her own classroom supplies, or a nurse whose hospital was bought by a profit-focused company, or a student who takes out huge loans only to find a degree no longer guarantees a good job. These experiences lead many people to believe the current system needs serious changes.

Some experts say the lesson here is that socialist leaders should stop pretending to be something they are not. Mamdani dressed well and spoke confidently without hiding his wealthy background, and he still connected with many voters. Left-leaning politicians might do better being honest about who they are: educated, worried people who believe the economy needs to change — not pretending to be factory workers or farmers.