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NextImg:Bernie Sanders charging up to $95 per ticket for anti-capitalism event

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is a big ideological opponent of capitalism. But he doesn’t seem to mind it so much in his own life , in which he’s raking in obscene sums, on his third home, and a multimillionaire.

The latest hilarious twist in his personal contradictions comes courtesy of his forthcoming book tour, where he’ll be charging up to $95 for tickets to an anti-capitalism event. Yes, seriously.

“Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is charging up to $95 to attend his anti-capitalist book tour,” the Daily Caller reports . “The event will promote his new book ‘It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism,’ hosted March 1 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The book retails for $28. Tickets are on sale Feb. 3 at 10:00 a.m. on Ticketmaster.”

Per Penguin Random House, Sanders’s forthcoming book “takes on the billionaire class and speaks blunt truths about our country’s failure to address the destructive nature of a system that is fueled by uncontrolled greed and rigidly committed to prioritizing corporate profits over the needs of ordinary Americans.”

The initial irony of this is obvious but fairly superficial. Yes, it’s ironic that a self-avowed socialist has made millions off his anti-capitalist schtick. But this is a fairly shallow observation, and supporters of socialism point out, fairly enough, that even proponents of an alternative system have to live in the one we’re in. (Although nothing’s stopping them from donating most of their profits or paying extra in taxes to help the poor.)

More interesting is how Sanders’s success itself is an example of the beauty of capitalism. Why?

Well, at its core, capitalism is about voluntary trade. When Sanders sells overpriced tickets or a foolish book, he’s engaging in exactly that kind of trade. The person buying his product values it more than the money they’re paying, and he values the price he’s getting more than he does giving up the product he’s selling. It’s, by definition, a win-win scenario, just like almost any voluntary trade in a capitalist system!

But it’s exactly those kinds of exchanges that Sanders wants to prohibit for other people. Whether it’s outlawing low-wage labor via high minimum wages or overregulating working hours, Sanders thinks other people shouldn’t be legally allowed to engage in voluntary exchanges of which he disapproves.

In a free market, however, we’re all free to pursue any win-win opportunities we want. The government, under such a system, serves only to protect our property rights and the rule of law, setting the stage for the market to flourish. When it’s allowed to thrive, the free market leads to enormous reductions in poverty and huge increases in living standards. It also leads to millions of satisfied customers.

Just ask Sanders’s fans.

Of course, I don’t begrudge Sanders his three homes, windfall from book sales, and lucrative speaking events. I just ask that he stop demonizing the rest of us for pursuing similar financial success.

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Brad Polumbo ( @Brad_Polumbo ) is a libertarian-conservative journalist, the co-founder of BASEDPolitics , and a Washington Examiner contributor.