Why did socialists of old invoke poverty as the reason for their policies, and modern socialists invoke inequality? Because capitalism is in the process of fixing poverty, and you don't gain power over people by promising to fix a problem that's a) fixable, and b) largely already fixed.
http://www.stephenhicks.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hicks...
Why did socialists of old invoke poverty as the reason for their policies, and modern socialists invoke inequality? Because capitalism is in the process of fixing poverty, and you don't gain power over people by promising to fix a problem that's a) fixable, and b) largely already fixed.