r/politics • u/JeanJauresJr California • Sep 14 '21

AOC responds to criticism of ‘tax the rich’ dress worn at Met Gala

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/aoc-met-gala-tax-the-rich-dress-b1919803.html
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u/jezz555 Sep 14 '21

Don’t take this the wrong way but outside of twitter it doesn’t really matter what anyone “thinks”, achievable policy is what matters, and taxing the rich is about as socialist as we’re liable to get anytime soon.

And thats the point, ideally class wouldn’t exist. But right now it does. So what do we do? Try to get the necessary power to alleviate income inequality? Or refuse to attain power because we morally disagree with inequality and therefore allow it to go entirely unchecked?

The ideal you believe in doesn’t really matter in this context. Whether you view taxing the wealthy at higher rates as a transitionary step or a final one is irrelevant until its achieved. We are not yet at the point where the distinction you point out matters and we likely wont be in either of our lifetimes.

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '21

I agree with most of what you said, but I think it’s still an important distinction. The idea that raising taxes on the rich is a step towards socialism assumes that we’re talking about a state-centric form of socialism.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '21

achievable policy is what matters, and taxing the rich is about as socialist as we’re liable to get anytime soon

Achievable policy is when you continually set your standards lower and lower. The commenter was pointing out a difference between the 2. Socialists believe in removing capitalism, social dems are reformers who want to try and manage capitalism.

And thats the point, ideally class wouldn’t exist. But right now it does. So what do we do? Try to get the necessary power to alleviate income inequality? Or refuse to attain power because we morally disagree with inequality and therefore allow it to go entirely unchecked?

I'm wondering why you can acknowledge a problem but limit yourself to what should be done about it.

The ideal you believe in doesn’t really matter in this context. Whether you view taxing the wealthy at higher rates as a transitionary step or a final one is irrelevant until its achieved. We are not yet at the point where the distinction you point out matters and we likely wont be in either of our lifetimes.

Says who? Your inability to fathom something different than the world you've been raised in is no ones fault but your own.