Opinion: The yuppies changed everything
The young urbanites of the ’80s changed our cities, politics and work lives, Dylan Gottlieb writes.
From The Times
May 24, 2026

The rise of the yuppie in the 1980s gave birth to society as we know it today. It’s reflected in everything from our meritocratic rat race to our gentrified neighborhoods to our culture of overwork, fitness training and foodie obsession. And it all emerged from a yuppie bargain that persists to this day, Dylan Gottlieb writes.

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Justin Metz

Opinion

Now, members of that class are everywhere — and under threat. →

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