Champagne socialist
Champagne socialist is a pejorative political term originating in the United Kingdom. The phrase is used to describe a left-winger, who supposedly disregards socialist ideals in their daily life. The term is used by opposing politicians to portray and ridicule their opponents as hypocritical.[1]
History and origin
The label arose from the perceived activity of proposing toasts to famous socialists with champagne.[citation needed] A similar concept, with aristocracy in place of capitalism, comes from the 19th-century philosopher Alexander Herzen, who in From the Other Shore (1855) wrote "It is they, none other, who are dying of cold and hunger...while you and I in our rooms on the first floor are chatting about socialism 'over pastry and champagne.'"
Comparable terms are parlor pink, limousine liberal, Neiman Marxist, Chardonnay socialist, cava socialists or asti socialists. The term Bollinger Bolshevik is used in the same way.
See also
Synonyms
- Chardonnay socialist, Australia and New Zealand
- Toskana-Fraktion, Austria and Germany
- Rosedale socialist, Canada
- Gauche caviar, France
- Radical chic, Italy
- Limousine liberal, North America
- Esquerda caviar, Portugal
- Gauche divine, Pijo-progre, Spain
- Rödvinsvänster (red wine left), Sweden
- Cüpli-Sozialist, Switzerland
- Smoked Salmon Socialist, Ireland[2]
References
- ^ New York Times
- ^ John Downing Quinn bids to banish 'smoked salmon socialist' image Irish Examiner Saturday, 23 March 2002