for the ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY COURSE

And yet it is socialists who are always accused of being unrealistic, of not making enough allowance for human nature. For not understanding that the money must come from somewhere - and I don't see you, O virtue signaller, who I spot is carrying quite an expensive smartphone, giving yours up. Call yourself a socialist? Well, yes. In a way, asking if one can be a socialist and rich is like asking whether women can be a feminist and stay-at-home mums. Believing in a political or social value does not mean living your life like a monk, dedicating every minute to the cause. But it does mean that there must be some way in which the ultimate purpose of feminism or socialism, which is to further the cause of equality, is advanced. It doesn't matter how small, inconsistent or dissonant your lifestyle to the naked eye this effort is, as long as it means there is a gentle pressure on the scales to tip in the right direction. The historian Bernard Lewis (typically scornfully) stated: "Nobody seems to have a good word to say for Arab socialism. Commercial, professional, and middle-class elements bring against it the usual complaints which are brought against socialism in western countries. Leftwingers dismiss Arab socialism with contempt as a half-hearted and inefficient compromise which has the merits neither of socialism nor of capitalism." But the movement presented a strong cadre of anti-colonial activists and postindependence politicians who, even if ideologically inconsistent and hailing from an elite, contributed incrementally to the liberation movement. They also drank a lot of coffee in street cafes, which was spun by their political establishment enemies as the pastime of indulgent, pontificating armchair critics. So go ahead and buy that latte: you are part of a noble tradition

QUESTION.

Can you be a socialist and rich?

SUMMARIZE THE PARAGRAPH