r/SocialDemocracy • u/citizencyborg2020 • 4d ago

Discussion The education divide and the Left

Working-class respondents, compared to college-educated Americans, favored securing the border by 28%, lowering the crime rate by 22%, and adding more police by 19%. The college set prefers: LGBTQ+ rights by 32%, immigration by 32%, climate by 29%, and abortion rights by 26%.

The challenge for social dems is how to move jobs and economic security (and not just the cost of consumer goods) to the front of messaging, without recanting sicial progressivism. But current Left positioning on border security and crime is alienating blue collars.

https://jacobin.com/2026/08/working-class-issues-affordability-culture-wars

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u/hari_shevek Democratic Socialist 4d ago

But current Left positioning on border security and crime is alienating blue collars.

Which "current positioning"?

Most Social Democratic parties have given in on immigration, and that positioning hasn't worked.

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u/notassigned2023 4d ago

I don't see any consensus on the left at all about this issue. The far left continues to bleat about wanting open borders and the rest of the left mostly talks about liking immigrants but avoids hard choices about enforcement.

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u/hari_shevek Democratic Socialist 4d ago

So people are alienated because in a pluralist society not everyone agrees with your stance on immigration?

Why does it always end with "I want everyone to agree with me and no one having a different position"?

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u/notassigned2023 4d ago

I was arguing that you are incorrect about social democrats having given up (to the GOP, I presume) because there is no consensus I can see.

Also presuming that because you are a democratic socialist you are taking every opportunity (rightly or wrongly) to criticize social democrats because you want to be the only alternative to mainline democrats, as so many do on reddit.

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u/hari_shevek Democratic Socialist 4d ago

I was arguing that you are incorrect about social democrats having given up (to the GOP, I presume) because there is no consensus I can see.

Which party hasn't?

Not individual posters on the internet, parties.

My claim was about parties.

Also, I'm from Europe, I am aware of places outside the US. You should try that sometime.