The Democratic Socialists of America are having a moment.
asserted
Socialists → have → moment
The group’s membership passed 120,000 members in July, overtaking the Eugene Debs-era Socialist Party of the early 20th century as the largest socialist organization in American history.
asserted
membership → pass → history
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is a democratic socialist, and DSA candidates won a handful of primary elections over the summer.
asserted
candidates → win → summer
The DSA’s rise is often attributed to inequality, resentment, or ambition.
asserted
rise → attribute → inequality
But critics have pointed out that many DSA members are highly educated or come from wealthy families, so something else must be at play.
asserted
something → point → play
People compete for more than income.
asserted
People → compete → income
They compete for reputation, recognition, influence, and rank.
asserted
They → compete → reputation
The economist Fred Hirsch described such goods as “positional” in his Social Limits to Growth (1976).
asserted
economist → describe → Growth
Joseph Schumpeter identified a related problem in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942).
asserted
Schumpeter → identify → Capitalism
He argued that prosperous societies would educate more people than established prestige systems could absorb.
uncertain
systems → argue → people
Many would acquire the education and expectations associated with elite positions without obtaining them.
asserted
Many → acquire → them
Some, he thought, would respond by turning against the source of that prosperity—the free-market system.
asserted
he → think → prosperity
Schumpeter’s prediction has not aged badly.
asserted
prediction → age → ?
Status competition is most consequential when many people depend on the same hierarchy for recognition, income, or professional identity, especially when alternatives are scarce and exit is costly.
asserted
exit → depend → recognition
Academia illustrates the mechanism.
asserted
Academia → illustrate → mechanism
Scholars compete for jobs, tenure, publications, grants, and recognition within the same institutional system.
asserted
Scholars → compete → system
Years of specialized training can make exit difficult.
asserted
exit → make → training
A scholar who has invested a decade acquiring specialized skills may have few opportunities to obtain comparable income and standing elsewhere.
uncertain
who → invest → income
Relative advantage can be pursued by improving one’s own position or by reducing the standing or opportunities of competitors.
asserted
advantage → pursue → competitors
The first can involve producing research, teaching, or discovery.
asserted
first → involve → research
The second can involve challenging a rival’s competence or fitness for membership without producing an equivalent intellectual contribution.
asserted
second → involve → contribution
That does not mean criticism is illegitimate or that every dispute is driven by status.
asserted
dispute → mean → status
Ideological disagreements can be sincere, and institutions need mechanisms for identifying error and misconduct.
asserted
institutions → need → error
The narrower point is that institutional arrangements affect incentives.
asserted
arrangements → affect → incentives
When one hierarchy controls a large share of available rewards, the potential payoff from influencing membership and advancement within it increases.
asserted
payoff → control → it
For much of the 20th century, journalism operated in a similar way.
asserted
journalism → operate → way
A small number of newspapers, magazines, and television networks controlled access to national audiences.
asserted
number → control → audiences
Losing a position at an important publication could mean losing both income and public visibility.
uncertain
Losing → lose → income
The internet changed that.
asserted
internet → change → that
Journalists and commentators can now reach audiences through newsletters, podcasts, YouTube, and other platforms.
asserted
Journalists → reach → newsletters
A writer rejected by a newspaper can publish directly on Substack or a personal website and promote work via social media.
asserted
writer → reject → media
A broadcaster without a network contract can still reach millions on X or YouTube.
asserted
broadcaster → reach → X
Competition for status remains and has arguably grown harsher, but failure in one hierarchy no longer determines a person’s prospects elsewhere.
asserted
failure → remain → prospects
Academia is beginning to experience the same change.
asserted
Academia → begin → change
Scholars can reach readers through subscription platforms, podcasts, and online lectures.
asserted
Scholars → reach → platforms
Preprint servers allow research to circulate before journals approve it.
asserted
journals → allow → it
Private laboratories and research institutes offer employment outside conventional departments.
asserted
laboratories → offer → departments
Organizations such as Arcadia Science and the Arc Institute are experimenting with funding scientists rather than rigid project proposals, providing multi-year support to follow promising questions without the constraints of predefined deliverables.
asserted
Organizations → experiment → deliverables
Alternative teaching institutions are also emerging outside legacy university systems.
asserted
institutions → emerge → systems
The University of Austin—founded as an independent, tenure-free institution dedicated to open inquiry—enrolled its first undergraduate class in 2024.
asserted
University → found → 2024
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
