Champagne socialist

[[File:I want to improve society somewhat.jpeg|thumb|right|This article summarized ([https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089KWC58S/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Created] by Matt Bors)]]{{languagenav}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with a {{wpl|Bourbon Democrat||.}}}}

{{cquote|When I was poor and complained about inequality they said I was bitter; now that I'm rich and I complain about inequality they say I'm a hypocrite. I'm beginning to think they just don't want to talk about inequality.|||[[Russell Brand]]<ref>[https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6584041-when-i-was-poor-and-complained-about-inequality-they-said Quote by Russell Brand]</ref>}}

"'''Champagne socialist'''" is a term used against critics of [[capitalism]]. It subjects critics to an [[Appeal to hypocrisy]] [[logical fallacy]], to dismiss any and all arguments and criticisms against capitalism.

The term was coined by a [[Confederacy|confederate]] solider, {{wpl|George_Cary_Eggleston||,}} who remained his entire life a complete defender of [[white supremacy]] and [[slavery]] by championing the [[Lost Cause of the South|Lost Cause]].<ref>[https://pt.findagrave.com/memorial/19983/george-cary-eggleston George Cary Eggleston (1839-1911)]</ref>

As a [[snarl word]], it's used primarily by folks who believe 
[[Genetic_fallacy|in shooting the messenger]]
 that people who have been the beneficiaries of [[capitalism]] should be precluded from criticizing its failures and shortcomings.

==Some examples==
The term was first used to criticise the first Labour government of Ramsay MacDonald,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/16/what-problem-champagne-socialism-francois-hollande What's the problem with champagne socialism?]</ref> Oscar Wilde,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/may/01/will-self-oscar-wilde-champagne-socialist-voting-labour Will Shelf: Oscar Wilde, champagne socialism and why I am voting Labour]</ref> and ''even'' the non-socialist [[New Labour]].<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1346349/How-Blairs-New-Labour-went-flat-for-champagne-socialists.html How Blair's New Labour went flat for champagne socialism] by the [[Torygraph]]</ref>

==Other terms==
* Limousine liberal, Lexus liberal, and latte liberal (in the [[United States]])
* Brosocialist and Manarchist (amongst [[feminists]])
* Bourgeois bohemian (France, though [[David Brooks]] tried to appropriate it)
* Chardonnay socialist (generally in [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]])
* Coffee-house communist (in India<ref group=note>It comes from the Indian Coffee House, which is a federation of worker co-operatives</ref>)
* Shiraz socialist
* Gauche caviar ([[France]])
* Progre(sista) de salón ([[Spain]])
* Socialista Caviar ([[Portugal]])
* Kystbanesocialist ([[Denmark]])
* Grachtengordelsocialist ([[Netherlands]])
* SWPL (from the satirical blog [https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com Stuff White People Like])
* Kawiorowa lewica ([[Poland]])
* Smoked salmon socialist ([[Ireland]])<ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/smoked-salmon-socialists-and-others-1.208162 Smoked Salmon Socialists and Others]. Irish Times, 28 October 1998.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Cloth coat Republican]] — Its diametrical opposite, though no less self-righteous.
* [[Fun:You have two cows]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
[[Category:Socialists]]
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:Snarl words]]

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Categories: Socialists, Communism, Political terms, Snarl words