Socialite vs socialist post

Guest   Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:21 pm GMT
Two nights ago, one of my colleagues suggested that I get in touch with mutual colleague whom he called "a socialist" and was best at arranging get-togethers.
The term he'd used raised some red flags in my head. I was positive that he meant to say "social" instead, especially after the fuzz created by Palin when she called Obama "a socialist" and all the negative connotations that term carried.
Then I started thinking back to a question that I posted on this forum not too long ago and remembered the response I got.
The poster that answered my question explained that "socialist" had the same meaning as "socialite." When I read that back then, I took the matter on faith.
But after those flags were raised, I decided to dig more into it and I wound up finding out that terms were indeed two conflicting things.
I went back to the post to point attention to it, but behold, Uriel had already corrected the answer in a manner that made sense to me.
http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t11762.htm

I believe it is critical that if one doesn't know the answer to a question, or is not sure, perhaps it's best to refrain from throwing in their 2 cents altogether.
Matthew   Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:14 am GMT
<<I believe it is critical that if one doesn't know the answer to a question, or is not sure, perhaps it's best to refrain from throwing in their 2 cents altogether.>>

I believe this is already the case. Even if they are wrong, most answers are given by people who are confident that they are giving correct information.

Getting people to stop creating topics asking for the definitions of words already covered by a dictionary is a much better mission.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socialite
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socialist
Guest   Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:05 pm GMT
Agreed. The other mission is still valid tho.
Achab   Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:17 am GMT
<<The poster that answered my question explained that "socialist" had the same meaning as "socialite.">>

I'm the poster that answered your question and I have no idea why you got the impression that I circulated such nonsense. I obviously never implied anything like that.

Quizzically,

Achab
Another Guest   Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:30 am GMT
A similar pair is "secular" and sectarian". Nearly opposite meaning, but often confused.
Tyrone   Wed Nov 19, 2008 6:39 am GMT
Is David Milliband more of a socialite or a socialist?
svealander   Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:30 am GMT
<<Is David Milliband more of a socialite or a socialist?>>

Like Blair he's probably a social...ist
svealander   Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:30 am GMT
<<Is David Milliband more of a socialite or a socialist?>>

Like Blair he's probably a social...ist
Guest   Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:30 am GMT
"I have no idea why you got the impression that I circulated such nonsense."

Cuz you did. Person B said that "social" and "socialite" were opposite terms. When I inquired about rationale you wrote: "B was sort of joking. "
What does that imply to you?

To Matthew, I forgot to say, consulting with dictionaries is a habit that I came to adopt lately. Additionally, I did indeed look up the meaning of "socialite." However, the reason why I didn't follow suit with "socialist" was because I got it mixed up with "social" until Palin's flurry brought it to my attn.
Achab   Wed Nov 19, 2008 6:30 pm GMT
To Guest,

<<The poster that answered my question explained that "socialist" had the same meaning as "socialite.">>

I obviously never said anything like that. Here's my original reply:

<<B was sort of joking.

A socialite is an individual organizing luxury parties attended by the rich and famous.

A socialist is an individual organizing counter-cultural events attended by wannabe Communists.

I'm joking too. But I hope I brought about some kind of explanation.>>

There's basically no trace of your "the poster explained that socialite and socialist have the same meaning" inference, unless you completely misunderstood what I meant by “B was sort of joking”. Sadly, it seems that’s what actually happened.

Anyway, here’s a clarification:

While socialist and socialite do not have the same meaning (something that in fact I never stated), they are also far from being perfect opposites in the fashion of evil/good or beautiful/ugly.

Think about many Hollywood celebrities of the past. They could be described as being both socialites and socialist. Katharine Hepburn is the first name I can mention off the top of my head. Humphrey Bogart is the second one. They were rich and famous, and they hung out with similar people. Yet, they sported socialist beliefs.

The socialism of these people have often been ridiculed as lacking authenticity. Were they really a bunch of phoneys? I have no idea, but that's how many people see them. An author, Tom Wolfe, even coined a mocking term, "radical chic", to describe them.

That’s why I think that B was probably joking. The two words, socialite and socialist, are not really opposites in a clear-cut way, but they can be described as such when some polemical, humorous slant is thrown in. I guess you didn't detect such slant in B's remark.

In conclusion, yes, I think that B was sort of joking. And no, that doesn’t really mean that I implied that those two words have the same meaning. Sometimes things are not white or black. There can be extra shades of color, further nuances of meaning to grasp.

It was you inferring, not me implying.

Having said that, I concede I should have been a bit less subtle. After all, I was providing an explanation to a “Guest”, not your quintessential smart user.

With all good wishes,

Achab
Adam   Wed Nov 19, 2008 7:18 pm GMT
A socialite is a person who is known to be a part of fashionable high society because of his or her regular participation in social activities and fondness for spending a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained.

A socialist is someone who is fond of socialism, like Britain's Stalinist Scottish Prime Minister Gordon Brown or its Trotskyist Scottish Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.
Adam   Wed Nov 19, 2008 7:20 pm GMT
Is David Milliband more of a socialite or a socialist?
**************************


David Miliband (Britain's Foreign Secretary) is a socialist but, unfortunately, he's a Metric socialist.