We Prole Drifting?
My New Favorite Term
What is a Prole?
In George Orwell's 1984, the Proles are the lower-class working population of Oceania, making up about 85% of the total population. They are intentionally kept ignorant and apolitical by the Inner Party through constant distractions like alcohol, gambling, and entertainment, allowing the Party to maintain its power by controlling the majority of the people through economic depression, a lack of education and awareness.
What is prole drift?
'Prole drift' is fringe internet slang for sliding into low-class, unconscious behaviors. It suggests a move toward more crude, unrefined, or ostentatious behaviors, sometimes linked to mass entertainment, consumerism, or public displays. This move is characterized by a gradual drift.
Identifying With Prole-ness
This decaying cultural phenomenon is, at its core, driven by economics. As people have less, they identify with less refined tastes and project positive meaning onto them. The mass embrace of “cheap but authentic” creates a loop that pulls even the well-off into celebrating decline as culture.
We’ve gone from fake it till you make it to celebrate never making it. Irony turns into a luxury brand, and status now comes from pretending you’re not trying. What started as economic coping has become the mainstream aesthetic.
Am I Prole Drifting?
Pointing out prole drift is fun. Questioning my own drift is harder. The answer’s never clean, just a matter of degree. Yon prole drifting?
Let me know what you think in the comments.
The topic of today's post was taken from Analyzing Finance with Nick. Nick is a wealth manager and makes fantastic videos on economic topics. Check him out.
