In
France they are called
Gauche Caviar. You can see quite a lot of them in
Woody Allen's movies as well (
Everybody says I love you definitely rocks).
They usually (but not always) come from
upper-class families, have a limited knowledge of the
working class, but feel a strong empathy towards "
the People". They are too
blasé/lazy/intelligent to get into real politics, however - and if they do, it is usually with one single target in mind :
the Top.
They are commonly loathed and despised, which I find somewhat harsh. Showing concern for
your fellow men's living condition should not make you the
ridicule of your contemporaries. Do you really have to utter
stupid slogans or fight policemen in the streets to gain respect? (However, note that being a hardened, cop-beating leftist in your early years does not prevent you from becoming an embodiment of
champagne socialism at a more mature age - see
Joschka Fischer of
Germany.)
As a crude summary : while a real
socialist's
pillow book would be
Capital (although as we all know,
nobody has ever read Marx's Capital - have
you?), a Champagne Socialist's would be
The Grapes of Wrath.
PS: I tend to disagree with the list that was given by afk2000 - if Tony Blair is to be called a Socialist, then Lionel Jospin must be the result of some genetic experiment to melt the DNAs of Proudhon, Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao in one single man.