Downward Mobility Drives Wokeness

Among children of the rich, only a minority maintain their parents’ status; many drop a quintile or more. Al‑Gharbi’s claim, highlighted by Henderson, is that this loss fuels the Great Awokening as status‑anxious strivers channel disappointment into moralized politics against institutions and winners. The mechanism ties measurable mobility data to elite cultural radicalism. — If elite downward mobility is a driver of ideological fervor, debates about campus culture, media, and policymaking should factor in status dynamics—not just ideas or institutions.