Champagne socialist
Encyclopedia
Champagne socialist is a pejorative political term originating in the United Kingdom
. The phrase is used to describe self identified socialists whose comfortable upper middle class
lifestyles are perceived to be incompatible with their professed political convictions. The term is used by opposing politicians to portray and ridicule their opponents as hypocritical
.
, 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.'" The term "champagne socialist" has been applied to such figures as Margaret Hodge
.
Comparable terms are parlor pink, limousine liberal
, gauche caviar
, Neiman Marxist, Chardonnay socialist, cava socialists or asti socialists. The term Bollinger
Bolshevik
is used in the same way.
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
. The phrase is used to describe self identified socialists whose comfortable upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
lifestyles are perceived to be incompatible with their professed political convictions. The term is used by opposing politicians to portray and ridicule their opponents as hypocritical
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
.
History and origin
The label arose from the perceived activity of proposing toasts to famous socialists with champagne. A similar concept, with aristocracy in place of capitalism, comes from the 19th-century philosopher Alexander HerzenAlexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
, 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
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
and champagne.'" The term "champagne socialist" has been applied to such figures as Margaret Hodge
Margaret Hodge
Margaret Hodge MBE MP, also known as Lady Hodge by virtue of her husband's knighthood, is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Barking since 1994. She was the first Minister for Children in 2003 and was Minister of State for Culture and Tourism at the Department...
.
Comparable terms are parlor pink, limousine liberal
Limousine liberal
Limousine liberal is a pejorative American political term used to illustrate perceived hypocrisy by a political liberal of upper class or upper middle class status; including calls for the use of mass transit while frequently using limousines or private jets, claiming environmental consciousness...
, gauche caviar
Gauche caviar
Gauche caviar is a pejorative French term to describe someone who claims to be a socialist while living in a way that contradicts socialist values...
, Neiman Marxist, Chardonnay socialist, cava socialists or asti socialists. The term Bollinger
Bollinger
Bollinger is a Champagne house, a producer of sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France. They produce several labels of Champagne under the Bollinger name, including the vintage Vieille Vignes Françaises, Grand Année and R.D. as well as the non-vintage Special Cuvée...
Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
is used in the same way.
See also
- Hampstead liberal
- Liberal eliteLiberal eliteLiberal elite is a political stigma used to describe affluent, politically left-leaning people. It is commonly used with the pejorative implication that the people who claim to support the rights of the working class are themselves members of the upper class, or upper middle class, and are...
- Chattering classesChattering classesThe chattering classes is a generally derogatory term first coined by Auberon Waugh often used by pundits and political commentators to refer to a politically active, socially concerned and highly educated section of the "metropolitan middle class," especially those with political, media, and...
- Blue rinse brigadeBlue rinse brigade"Blue rinse brigade" is a somewhat pejorative term used, particularly in the United Kingdom, to describe elderly middle-class ladies usually of a conservative socio-political persuasion...
- IslingtonIslingtonIslington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
Synonyms
- Chardonnay socialistChardonnay socialistChardonnay socialist is a derogatory Australasian term used to describe those on the political left with comfortable middle or upper-class incomes, tertiary education, and a penchant for the finer things in life, Chardonnay being a form of white wine for example.It is similar in thrust to the North...
, Australia and New Zealand - Toskana-Fraktion, Austria and Germany
- RosedaleRosedale, TorontoRosedale is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance....
socialist, Canada (Ontario) - Shaughnessy socialist, Canada (British Columbia)
- Gauche caviarGauche caviarGauche caviar is a pejorative French term to describe someone who claims to be a socialist while living in a way that contradicts socialist values...
, France - Radical chicRadical chicRadical chic is a term coined by journalist Tom Wolfe in his 1970 essay "Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's," to describe the adoption and promotion of radical political causes by celebrities, socialites, and high society...
, Italy - Limousine liberalLimousine liberalLimousine liberal is a pejorative American political term used to illustrate perceived hypocrisy by a political liberal of upper class or upper middle class status; including calls for the use of mass transit while frequently using limousines or private jets, claiming environmental consciousness...
, United States - Esquerda caviar, Portugal
- Gauche divine, Pijo-progre, Spain
- Rödvinsvänster (red wine left), Sweden
- Cüpli-Sozialist, Switzerland
- Caviar left, Peru
- Smoked Salmon Socialist, Ireland