champagne socialist

plural champagne socialists

1. derogatorysarcasticgovernmentA person adhering to socialism or supporting socialist policies while enjoying a lifestyle that is ostensibly in conflict with their political beliefs, or whose status would shield them from negative consequences of said policies.

   [Raphaël] Glucksmann has a slight “champagne socialist” air that could hurt him, said Daniel Boy of Sciences Po.

   2026 August 29, Adrienne Klasa, Sarah White, “The new hope of the French left”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7

   4 more examples

   "The champagne socialist wants everybody to be equal upon the higher plane that suits him, utterly ignoring the fact that there are not enough champagne, green turtle, and truffles to go round."

   1906, George Cary Eggleston, Blind Alleys, Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., page 206

   People deploy the phrase 'Champagne socialist' a lot online. They smirk at their computer screens, shrewdly slipping around comment boards imploding egalitarian arguments with a single phrase.

   [2015 March 3, wrightismight [username], “The Champagne Socialist Fallacy”, in Blue Labyrinths, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2015

   Being soft on crime is fashionable among champagne socialists. Within their circles, there are few easier ways to win social clout than to declare that the police ought to be literally abolished, or to rhapsodize that what criminals need, more than anything else, is more leniency and understanding.

   2022 January 12, Adam Zivo, “In the U.S., champagne socialists pursue soft-on-crime policies at the expense of vulnerable communities”, in National Post, archived from the original on 12 Jan 2022

   As a consequence of these opinions, a close friend calls me a champagne socialist. He says I’m conflicted and self-contradictory. He mock-quotes me with "redistribute wealth, just not mine."

   2024 March 12, Philip Beasley, “Maybe I am a Champagne Socialist, but I am not conflicted”, in Medium, archived from the original on 16 Jan 2026

   Synonyms: café revolutionary, chardonnay socialist, gauche caviar, Gucci socialist, silver-spoon socialist, smoked salmon socialist, parlor pink