Yeah, I don’t see any ridicule, either. It’s just an inference from the poster’s stated position. They don’t like “left-wing” policies because they stunt economic growth. They said that the desire for justice should not play into one’s economic policy. Then the cited China as an example of positive growth. So the implication is that they advocate for the US to adopt China’s policies rather than the left wing, moral policies (like minimum wage). Asking rather than assuming gave octopus a chance to clarify or take back what he said.
The only way I could see it being ridicule is if you suppose that he was making up a ridiculous strawman that octopus wouldn’t take. But octopus has no problem agreeing with the claim, saying that wishing it weren’t so wouldn’t change the reality.
BTW, @Exapno_Mapcase: I linked the specific post by clicking the little chain link icon below the post. I then chopped off the part that had my username in it (?u=bigt), but that’s optional. (Though I would never not chop it off if you post the URL elsewhere online. No reason to let people know your username here.)