Champagne socialism, Emily Ratajkowski, and the moral failures of the very wealthy

Champagne socialism. The slightly more radicalized cousin of liberal elitism, champagne socialism is increasingly becoming the default position for very wealthy people who also want to be (or be perceived as) good progressives. It’s leftism for people who have personal drivers. It’s political fence-sitting, and it’s so incredibly interesting.

Can we believe in a wealth tax and still want to become wealthy ourselves? Can we espouse the importance of universal pre-k and still send our children to the elite private schools that churn out senators regularly?

These are the questions of champagne socialism, rooted in the eternal battle between capitalism and whatever else is out there. 

It’s the Emily Ratajkowski of it all, and it’s what I’m talking about in this week’s episode of Thinking Is Cool. The absence of ethical consumption, the question of ethical production, the justification of wealth and wanting, and where we fit into the paradigm of late-stage capitalism.

Listen now to confront your own ideas of good, bad, and worse.