Champagne socialist is a political term commonly used in theUnited Kingdom.[1][2] It is a popularepithet that implies a degree ofhypocrisy, and it is closely related to the concept of theliberal elite.[3] The phrase is generally used to describe self-identifiedanarchists,communists, andsocialists whose luxurious lifestyles,metonymically including consumption ofchampagne, are ostensibly in conflict with their political beliefs. In more inflammatory contexts, it can be exaggerated to describe privileged individuals who express support for any policy or cause at all that addresseseconomic inequality.
The term has been used by left-wing commentators to criticisecentrist views. Some traditional left-wingers regard the firstLabourPrime MinisterRamsay MacDonald as a "champagne socialist" who betrayed theLabour movement. MacDonald's lavish lifestyle and his mingling withhigh society is supposed to have been a corrupting influence that led to the end of the Labour Government in 1931 and the eventual formation of theNational Government.[2] More recently, the epithet has been levelled at supporters of theNew Labour movement which broughtTony Blair to power in 1997.[4]
In an article aboutOscar Wilde's 1891 essay "The Soul of Man under Socialism", political commentatorWill Self expressed the view that Wilde could be considered an early champagne socialist because of hisaesthetic lifestyle and socialist leanings.[5]
The writer and Labour supporterJohn Mortimer, when accused of being a champagne socialist, said that he preferred to be thought of as "more aBollingerBolshevik".[6]
In the fourth series of the British television comedyAbsolutely Fabulous, Saffron is offered a job with New Labour. While she is at pains to avoid being seen as a champagne socialist, her grandmother considers the family to be "Bolly Bolsheviks".[7]
The label has also been applied to the Labour politicianGeoffrey Robinson MP on account of his large personal fortune.[8][9] SingerCharlotte Church has described herself as a "prosecco socialist",[10] referring to the increasing popularity and lower price range of non-champagne sparkling wines such asprosecco andcava.
In the UK, the term is often used by critics to disparage people with a leftwing political view.[2] This argument claims that the champagne socialist espousesleftist views while enjoying a luxurious lifestyle; one example might includeLabour Party supporters who stereotypically live inInner London and consumehighbrow media.
This usage of the term has been criticised byCaitlin Moran as afallacious argument, because she claims it assumes that only those who are poor can express an opinion aboutsocial inequality.[11]Russell Brand made a similar point that the "hypocrisy" accusation serves to shut down discussion of the problem of inequality.[12]
InAustralia andNew Zealand, the variant "Chardonnay socialist" was used, asChardonnay was seen as a drink of affluent people.[13][14][15] By the late 1990s, chardonnay had become more readily available and generally consumed[15] in Australia; today it is the most dominant white wine variety produced in the country. As a result, the drink's association with elitism has faded.
Staunch Australianright-wingers also used the term to deride those who supported what they considered "middle-class welfare"—government funding forthe arts, free tertiary education, and theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation.[16]
In 2017,Current Affairs ran a lighthearted article featuring apolitical cartoon of guests at aMarxist gathering dressed in fancy attire and sipping on champagne. The central argument was thatconspicuous consumption was not inherently antithetical to leftist values so long as luxuries were shared equally. As the magazine put it, "When we saylet them eat cake, we are serious: there must be cake, it must be good cake, and it must be had by all. The reasonMarie Antoinette needed beheading was not that she wished cake on the poor, but that she never actually gave them any."[17]
The term appears inBlind Alleys, a 1906 work of fiction by the American authorGeorge Cary Eggleston which distinguishes the "beer socialist" who "wants everybody to come down to his low standards of living" and the "champagne socialist" who "wants everybody to be equal on the higher plane that suits him, utterly ignoring the fact that there is not enough champagne, green turtle and truffles to go round".[18]
A 2021 article in the libertarian magazineReason written byJason Brennan and Christopher Freiman deridedBernie Sanders,Elizabeth Warren, and political commentatorHasan Piker as so-called "champagne socialists." In the article, Brennan and Freiman chide these "socialist figureheads" to "open their wallets before they open their mouths" on the basis that each had supposedly donated little of their personal wealth to causes they support, but had instead called forincreased taxes. In the case of Sanders and Piker, Brennan and Freiman criticize their supposedly excessive living arrangements, while Warren is reprehended for donating only a small portion of her net worth to causes she advocates for.[19]
The term is broadly similar to the American terms "limousine liberal", "Learjet liberal", or "Hollywood liberal", and to idioms in other languages such as the SpanishIzquierda caviar, the Portugueseesquerda caviar, the Indian "Khan Market liberal" (which represents a highly affluent shopping area ofSouth Delhi that is popular among leftists),[20] the FrenchGauche caviar, the DutchSalonsocialist [nl], the GermanSalonbolschewist [de], the ItalianRadical chic, the SwedishRödvinsvänster [sv] (lit. 'Red vine left'), and the Polishkawiorowa lewica (lit. 'caviar left').[21] In Turkey,Solperen (lit. 'Lefty') orCihangir solcusu [tr] (lit. 'Cihangir leftist') is commonly used, sinceCihangir is a high-income neighborhood ofBeyoğlu,Istanbul,[22] althoughşampanya sosyalisti ("champagne socialist")[23] andsalon sosyalisti ("salon socialist")[24] are used as well. In Switzerland,Cüpli-Sozialisten (lit. 'Glass-of-Champagne Socialist') is used.[25][26] Other related terms include "Tuscany faction [de]", "Hampstead liberal", "Gucci socialist", "Gucci communist", "Neiman Marxist", "cashmerecommunist", and in Ireland, "smoked salmon socialist".[27]
Taking "Champagne socialist" jibes on the chin - "I've always been enthusiastic about Champagne" - the Groucho club member is no fair-weather friend of the party.
When I was poor and I complained about inequality people said I was bitter, now I'm rich and I complain about inequality they say I'm a hypocrite. I'm beginning to think they just don't want inequality on the agenda because it is a real problem that needs to be addressed.
(from pages 24-5) From his first day in parliament as leader in March 1995 until the election, Howard courted the strong public perceptions of Keating arrogance that were evident in party polling. This was the context to the ad hominem of 'chardonnay socialist' that was extended to any Labor speaker and to the whole ALP in an attempt to undermine their ethos through associations with self-indulgence, selfishness and lack of concern for the people. Frequent deployment of these terms by the media provided a further convincing context for this rhetoric. Kim Carr was called a 'Bollinger Bolshevik' by Vanstone (Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates [CPD], Senate, 13 May 1997) and there was 'Chardonnay Cheryl' Kernot, the 'shadow minister for the selfish "me generation" yuppies' with her 'list of hors d'oeuvres for the next caucus radical chic soiree', said Richard Alston (CPD, Senate, 4 March 1998; 23 March 1998; 30 March 1998). She could be seen with Mark Latham, said David Kemp, 'on the patio sipping their wine, complaining about the excesses of capitalism' (CPD, Senate, 22 October 1997).
