Playing the Jealousy Card

I recently encountered the “you’re just jealous” retort for the thousandth time — not directed at me, but at someone else who had argued against extreme economic inequality.  This really seems to be what many people believe, and not just members of the upper crust. Those opposed to concentration of immense wealth in the hands of a few who are using that wealth to end democracy itself are merely envious. As the cartoon character who is basically me is saying, I have absolutely no desire to live the oligarch lifestyle, which seems to involve an exhausting level of consumption and hideous aesthetics.