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Working Class Quotes

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Working Class Quotes

“One glance proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that these unions (railroad craft unions) are exceedingly useful to the corporations; and to the extent that they serve the economic and political purposes of the corporations, they are the foes – and not the friends – of the working class.”

Political Purpose Class Doubt Economic Prove Shadow Unions Crafts Corporations Working Class Glances Foe Railroads

Author:Eugene V. Debs

“I am not a capitalist soldier; I am a proletarian revolutionist. I do not belong to the regular army of the plutocracy, but to the irregular army of the people. I refuse to obey any command to fight from the ruling class, but I will not wait to be commanded to fight for the working class. I am opposed to every war but one; I am for that war with heart and soul, and that is the world-wide war of social revolution. In that war I am prepared to fight in any way the ruling class may make necessary, even to the barricades.”

“I was the hero of the young insurgent working class art movement.”

Art Young Class Movement Hero Working Class Insurgent Working Class Hero

Author:Elia Kazan

“The working class is revolutionary or it is nothing.”

Class Revolutionary Working Class

Author:Karl Marx

“The French need a thrashing. If the Prussians win, the centralization of state power will be useful for the centralization of the German working class. German predominance would also transfer the center of gravity of the workers' movement in Western Europe from France to Germany, and one has only to compare the movement in the two countries from 1866 until now to see that the German working class is superior to the French both theoretically and organizationally.”

“Sport must be accessible to working class youth.”

Sports Class Youth Working Class

Author:Pierre de Coubertin

“I think the reason working-class people don't write books is because they are encouraged to believe that only certain people are permitted to write books.”

People Thinking Writing Believe Book Reason Certain Class Working Class Lenses

Author:Len Deighton

“I know too much from personal observation from how the poor and working classes live to be satisfied with a system which makes their lives one unceasing round of toil, deprivation and anxiety.”

Knows Women Poor Class Too Much Anxiety Rounds Satisfied Observation Working Class Toil Deprivation

Author:Vida Goldstein

“It's still popular to ... insist that globalization is a rising tide that lifts all boats, but the hard reality is that the last thirty years have seen America's once proud and prosperous working class thrown to the wolves, so corporations could keep boosting their quarterly profits and the middle class could maintain a filmy illusion of wealth through access to cheap consumer goods.”

“I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half.”

I Can Political Politics Half Class Working Class Other Half One Half Robber Baron

Author:Jay Gould

“The working classes in every country only learn to fight in the course of their struggles.”

Country Fighting Courses Class Struggle Working Class

Author:Rosa Luxemburg

“The working classes in every country only learn to fight in the course of their struggles...Social democracy...is only the advance guard of the proletariat, a small piece of the total working masses; blood from their blood, and flesh from their flesh. Social democracy seeks and finds the ways, and particular slogans, of the workers' struggle only in the course of the development of this struggle, and gains directions for the way forward through this struggle alone.”

“The working class is my home country, and my future is linked with the proletariat.”

Country Home Class Working Class Linked My Future Proletariat Home Country

Author:Andrei Platonov

“We don't use the term 'working class' here because it's a taboo term. You're supposed to say 'middle class,' because it helps diminish the understanding that there's a class war going on.”

War Helping Use Understanding Term Class Middle Middle Class Working Class Diminish Taboo

Author:Noam Chomsky

“In the fourth quadrant (lower right), working-class people are motivated to take on green-collar jobs and start green businesses.”

People Jobs Class Green Climate Motivated Fourth Working Class Collars

Book:The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems

Source: The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems

“And middle-class women, although taught to value established forms, are in the same position as the working class: neither can use established forms to express what the forms were never intended to express (and may very well operate to conceal).”

Wells May Use Form Values Class Middle Position Taught Middle Class Working Class

Book:How to Suppress Women's Writing

Source: How to Suppress Women's Writing

“Those who advocate devaluation are calling for a reduction in the wage levels and the real wage standards of every member of the working class.”

Real Levels Class Calling Members Standards Working Class Reduction

Author:James Callaghan

“A social democratic party without deep roots in the working class movement would quickly fade into an unrepresentative intellectual sect”

Social Party Class Movement Intellectual Roots Democratic Fades Working Class Democratic Party Sects Deep Roots

Book:What Matters Now. -

Source: What Matters Now. -

“Pacifism, the preaching of peace in the abstract, is one of the means of duping the working class.”

Mean Class Abstract Preaching Working Class Pacifism

Author:Vladimir Lenin

“Every time the media brings up the tea party, it's painted as racist and extremists - but there's never a backlash, no outrage to those comparisons. ... Working-class people are hurting - and it doesn't seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job - it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change.”

People Whole Seems Care Jobs Sides Hurt Party Class Media Policy Angry Holes Tea Comparison Racist Working Class Both Sides Outrage Extremist Tea Party Backlash

Author:Hank Williams, Jr.

“Only the Irish working class remains as the incorruptible inheritors of the fight for freedom in Ireland.”

Fighting Class Republican Remains Ireland Working Class Fighting For Freedom

Book:Labour in Irish History

Source: Labour in Irish History

“We all like to think of ourselves as a standard, and I can see that it is genuinely difficult for the English middle class to suppose that the working class is not desperately anxious to become just like itself. I am afraid this must be unlearned.”

Thinking I Can Difficult Class Middle Standards Middle Class Anxious Working Class

Author:Raymond Williams

“Freedom for the working class!”

Class Working Class

Author:Mother Jones

“People are very proud of Newcastle, very proud to come from here. This is a working class City and they just want to enjoy themselves and live life to the full. They work all week, pick their wages up at the end of the week and they spend it over a weekend by having a good time and watching the football. That's our life.”

People Want Ends Enjoy Cities Class Our Lives Week Football Proud Picks Live Life Good Times Weekend Working Class Wages Having A Good Time Newcastle Living Life To The Full

Author:Alan Shearer

“There are only two roads, victory for the working class, freedom, or victory for the fascists which means tyranny. Both combatants know what's in store for the loser.”

Knows Mean Two Class Victory Stores Tyranny Loser Working Class Fascists Two Roads

Author:Buenaventura Durruti

“We know what we want. To us it means nothing that there is a Soviet Union somewhere in the world, for the sake of whose peace and tranquility the workers of Germany and China were sacrificed to Fascist barbarians by Stalin. We want revolution here in Spain, right now, not maybe after the next European war. We are giving Hitler and Mussolini far more worry with our revolution than the whole Red Army of Russia. We are setting an example to the German and Italian working class on how to deal with Fascism.”

“The struggle for socialism is the struggle for proletarian (working class) democracy. Proletarian democracy is not the crown of socialism. Socialism is the result of proletarian democracy. To the degree that the proletariat mobilizes itself and the great masses of the people, the socialist revolution is advanced. The proletariat mobilizes itself as a self-acting force through its own committees, unions, parties, and other organizations.”

People Self Force Results Party Acting Class Struggle Democracy Revolution Degrees Mass Organization Unions Socialism Crowns Socialist Committees Working Class Proletariat

Author:C. L. R. James

“If there ever was a poet for the working class Billy Joe Shaver and Merle Haggard would be my nomination”

Ifs Would Be Class Poet Working Class Nominations Haggard

Author:David Allan Coe

“It is only the working class at the head of the masses, it is only the working class headed by its real Marxist-Leninist party, it is only the working class through armed revolution, through violence, that can and must bury the traitorous revisionists.”

Real Party Class Violence Revolution Mass Working Class Marxist

Book:The Party of Labor of Albania in Battle with Modern Revisionism: Speeches and Articles

Source: The Party of Labor of Albania in Battle with Modern Revisionism: Speeches and Articles

“I know from my experience it is up to the working people to save themselves. The only way they can save themselves is by a strong working-class movement.”

People Knows Way Strong Class Movement Working Class

Book:All for one

Source: All for one

“My father kept his distance from working-class American blacks.”

Father Class Distance Working Class Distance Relationship

Author:Constance Baker Motley

“The working class will not halt until socialism has been realized.”

Has Beens Class Socialism Working Class Halt Eugenics

Author:Ernst Toller

“Without Socialism the working class is a heterogeneous mixture of different categories, some of which have independent, varying interests, sometimes opposed to each other.”

Different Sometimes Interest Class Independent Socialism Categories Working Class Mixtures

Author:Karl Radek

“This led me to understand that trade unionism, the instrument of working-class liberation and of social change could, and indeed should, be also an instrument of industrial progress.”

Should Social Class Progress Instruments Trade Liberation Working Class Social Change Unionism

Author:Leon Jouhaux

“We want to begin in working-class neighborhoods. We want to test the concept there, because our idea is that fair trade should not just be for the elites, but for everyone, for the majority, for the poor people. Quality food for poor people. Why just quality for the rich? And at an equal price”

People Want Should Ideas Poor Quality Class Rich Equal Concepts Fairs Tests Trade Majority Neighborhood Elites Working Class Poor People Fair Trade

Author:Victor Suarez Melendez

“Las Vegas is a major family destination. Nevada casinos have become American family values now. It's considered just fine to go into one of these windowless scary gambling-malls, drink yourself silly, lose your ass at roulette, and then go ogle showgirls with breast implants. Republicans do this now. Working-class folks do it in polyester stretch pants. It's normal.”

“I'm a working-class kid from a blue-collar New England family.”

Eye Kids Class England Blue Working Class Blue Eyes Collars New England Blue Collar Blue Collar Workers

Author:R. A. Salvatore

“Super silver, Hawaiian haze Sativa, indica, Solomon's grave Genesis, chapter one verse twelve ways Marijuana, hashish, everybody blaze Fuels and fibers, energy saved When the natives met the travelers, guess what they gave All praise due to the seeds they raised And the people all over the world that smoke J's Kings and queens, musicians, actors Everyday, working class, stoners, slackers Low key blazers and green bowl packers If Mary Jane is in the house then I'm gon' mack her This is dedicated to everybody in the world that smoke weed Legalize it”

“It is only with burning anger that we can speak of this attack by counter-revolutionary reactionary elements against the capital of our country, against our people's democratic order and the power of the working class.”

People Country Order Speak Class Elements Anger Democratic Our Country Burning Revolutionary Working Class Reactionaries

Author:Janos Kadar

“Eight Hours For What We Will is a major contribution to modern American working-class history and to the history of a changing American popular and mass culture.”

Culture Hours Class Modern Majors Mass Eight Contribution Working Class Mass Culture

Author:Herbert Gutman

“For reforms ameliorate the situation of the working class, they lighten the weight of the chains labour is burdened with by capitalism, but they are not sufficient to crush capitalism and to emancipate the workers from their tyranny.”

Situation Class Capitalism Weight Workers Tyranny Chains Reform Sufficient Crush Labour Working Class

Author:Clara Zetkin

“The Social-Democratic Federation took part in all the political and economic struggles of the English working class; it took pains to bring Socialist views home to them, not only through agitation and propaganda, but also by actions.”

Home Action Pain Political Social Views Class Struggle Economic Democratic Propaganda Socialist Working Class Agitation Federation

Author:Karl Radek

“In the United States, the working class are Democrats. The middle class are Republicans. The upper class are Communists.”

States United Class United States Middle Republican Democrat Middle Class Communist Working Class Upper Class

Book:Witness

Source: Witness

“In Courtney Moreno's In Case of Emergency the working class save the world and themselves. A wonderful first book!”

World Firsts Book Class Cases Wonderful Working Class Emergencies Save The World Courtney

Author:Ali Liebegott

“All the world suffers from the usury of the Jews, their monopolies and deceit. They have brought many unfortunate people into a state of poverty, especially the farmers, working class people and the very poor. Then as now Jews have to be reminded intermittently anew that they were enjoying rights in any country since they left Palestine and the Arabian desert, and subsequently their ethical and moral doctrines as well as their deeds rightly deserve to be exposed to criticism in whatever country they happen to live.”

“I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, that the working men are the basis of all governments, for the plain reason that they are the more numerous, and as you added that those were the sentiments of the gentlemen present, representing not only the working class, but citizens of other callings than those of the mechanic, I am happy to concur with you in these sentiments, not only of the native born citizens, but also of the Germans and foreigners from other countries.”

Source: LINCOLN – Complete 7 Volume Edition: Biographies, Speeches and Debates, Civil War Telegrams, Letters, Presidential Orders & Proclamations: Including the Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt & 3 Biographies: The Every-day Life of the President, Lincoln by Carl Shurz and Abraham Lincoln by Joseph H. Choate

“After World War I the resentment of the working class against all that it had to suffer was directed more against Morgan, Wall Street and private capital than the government.”

World War Government Suffering Class Streets Wall War Of The Worlds Resentment World War I Working Class

Author:C. L. R. James

“The working class of England take their deracination completely for granted. Disenchantment is the happy code that informs every byway of the underclass: service jobs, celebrity dreams, Lotto wins, leisured poverty on pre-crunch credit cards, it's all there, part of the story of an English people whose grandparents never had it so good.”

People Stories Dream Jobs Winning Class Poverty England Credit Cards Granted Code Working Class Grandparent Credit Card Crunch Disenchantment

Author:Andrew O'Hagan

“Ours is a people's democratic dictatorship, led by the working class and based on the worker-peasant alliance.”

People Class Democratic Workers Dictatorship Dictator Working Class Peasants Alliances

Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tsetung

Source: Quotations from Chairman Mao Tsetung

“We must be vigilant that we don't sink into the morass of sectarianism, mixing, pettiness etc. We must not get involved in unprincipled slagging matches etc or into positions that are sectarian, anti-revolutionary, morally damaging that give succour to the enemy & that confuse & divide the working class”

Giving Enemy Class Position Involved Revolutionary Etc Divides Working Class Get Involved Mixing Vigilant Sectarianism Pettiness

Author:Thomas S. Power