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To Critique Any Position, You First Have to Understand It
This is why my political perspective has shifted dramatically in the past several years.
On her website, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sells a $58 sweatshirt that says “Tax the Rich.” A friend of mine recently reposted a video of billionaire Kevin O’Leary wearing this sweatshirt and joking, “inside of every socialist there is a capitalist screaming to get out!”
I sent her a question about it, and my friend replied that it was just ironic that someone who wants to tax the rich is selling an expensive sweatshirt. To be clear, this friend is not a fan of AOC and also called her “irrelevant.” We discussed it a bit further, but then eventually ended the conversation by laughing at the theatrics of Kevin O’Leary.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized my friend didn’t have a grasp on the position she was criticizing. And then I considered the times I’d done the same exact thing: criticized a position I didn’t actually understand.
On Democratic Socialism and Expensive Sweatshirts
To break this down, I’ll start with the fact that AOC is a self-described democratic socialist. From her website, she defines it as such:
