via unherd:
The Democratic merger between the corporate Left and traditional Leftism is clearly unnatural. The old Leftists like Sanders, and publications like The Nation, have become alarmed by the growing power of the oligarchic elites within the party as well as the accelerating movement of working class voters to the GOP. Given that all ten of the nation’s wealthiest congressional districts are now solidly Democratic, they have a point. As the radical publication Jacobin complained: “The Democratic base is getting richer and whiter.”
The gap between the interests of investment banks, C-suite executives and elite professionals and that of working, even middle-class voters, is simply too large. Born out of fears over Trump and the MAGA movement, there may be a truce between the two factions in 2024. But, over time, economic issues will sunder this alliance, as is already happening with the growing presence of socialists on city councils in places like Los Angeles and New York. There’s even a growing socialist movement among woke employees in Silicon Valley.
Among Leftists, there’s a natural hostility to the oligarchy’s excesses. After all, if the world is on the verge of apocalypse, and must adopt “net zero”, the issues of redistribution become greater. It is therefore not great advertising to their own party, let alone the world, when wealthy Democrats fly their private jets to discuss the “crisis” in places like Davos.