RUTHFULLY YOURS

Teen Vogue, publisher of groundbreaking, age-appropriate material like anal sex manuals for both “prostate owners” and “non-prostate owners” alike, has stepped into the political arena once again with an article about the alleged failures of capitalism.

“Can’t #endpoverty without ending capitalism,” the magazine tweeted on Wednesday, with a link to a poorly-written diatribe that reads like a B student’s Marxism 101 paper and gets key historical facts wrong. Absent from writer Kim Kelly’s excoriation of the system that has brought the world out of grinding poverty is the fact that her screed was published in a fashion magazine, which is supposed to fill its pages chronicling the trends of an industry of excess that owes its existence to the tremendous wealth capitalism has created.

Meanwhile, socialist paradise Venezuela is succumbing to what increasingly seems to be an ironclad rule of left-wing economics: they’ve run out of toilet paper. Of course, the leader of the workers’ paradise isn’t going on the same crash diet that caused the people of Venezuela to lose an average of 24 pounds last year (“10 ways to lose 20 lbs: 1. Communism”). President Nicolas Maduro was recently spotted living the Michelin star-studded capitalist life with a Miami celebrity chef known as “Salt Bae.”

While it’s easy (and let’s face it, kind of fun) to tear Teen Vogue’s pop Communism apart on the merits, the relentless politicization of all spaces in public and private life is exhausting and dangerous. When top Democrats refuse to condemn — and sometimes encourage — mob violence against Republicans, calls for civility are falling on deaf ears in a political environment where left and right seem polarized even on the most foundational principles.

With the threat of political violence and civil unrest bubbling in the background, it’s even more critical that people of different political tribes connect with each other as friends, family and fellow citizens. When politics are front and center in every interaction, Americans are deprived of the ability to connect as everyday human beings — as sports fans, Netflix bingers, and yes, fashionistas.

Instead, we meet only on the political battlefield, without the prior apolitical common ground that once provided the opportunity for amity and friendship. No wonder it’s become commonplace for people on both sides of the aisle to refer to those on the other not as opponents, but as enemies.

Teen Vogue’s Twitter bio reads, “The young person’s guide to conquering (and saving) the world,” and that’s exactly the problem. Women don’t read fashion magazines because they’ve misplaced their copies of Das Kapital, but for style and beauty tips they can use in their own lives and share with friends.

Those tips may not “save the world” enough for the left’s liking, but topics that create positive bonds between people with different political views, life experiences, and perspectives are a necessary component of e pluribus unum. By aggressively politicizing fashion, Teen Vogue is not saving the world, but furthering one of the most destructive trends in our culture.

We’re begging you, Vogue: leave the half-baked social and economic theory to stoned undergraduates. Shut up and show us the fall lines.