Workers

Reason -  Today, political scientists and pollsters use "the working class" to describe members of the work force who do not have a college degree. By that definition, the number of working-class Americans has been declining as the country has grown wealthier and more educated. According to the Census Bureau, nearly 38 percent of Americans had at least a bachelor's degree in 2022, up from just 17 percent in 1980.

There's a major exception to that common definition, however. Marxist scholars use "working class" quite differently—typically encompassing anyone who depends on wages to survive, regardless of their educational experience.

In nonacademic contexts, the term gets even murkier. According to a Pew Research Center survey taken in May, 54 percent of Americans say "working class" describes them "very" or "extremely well." Notably, self-identified Republicans are more likely to claim the "working class" label than Democrats are, by a margin of 62 percent to 48 percent. The results are even more perplexing when socioeconomic level is considered: 59 percent of upper-income Republicans say they are working class, compared to just 33 percent of high-earning Democrats.