The

political slogan The following is a list of notable political slogans. Political slogan (listed alphabetically) A * Abki baar Modi Sarkar – Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign slogan for 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections * ACT UP, Fight Back, Fight AIDS – ...

"Workers of the world, unite!" is one of the rallying cries from ''

The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Commu ...

'' (1848) by

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' but soon popularised in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as "Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!"). A variation of this phrase ("Workers of all lands, unite") is also inscribed on Marx's tombstone. The essence of the slogan is that members of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

es throughout the world should cooperate to defeat

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

and achieve victory in the class conflict.

Overview

Chelovek s ruzhyom-Tenin Shtraukh Gelovani

Five years before ''The Communist Manifesto'', this phrase appeared in the 1843 book ''The Workers' Union'' by

Flora Tristan Flore Célestine Thérèse Henriette Tristán y Moscoso better known as Flora Tristan (7 April 1803 – 14 November 1844) was a French-Peruvian socialist writer and activist. She made important contributions to early feminist theory, and argued ...

. The

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

, described by Engels as "the first international movement of the working class" was persuaded by Engels to change its motto from the

League of the Just The League of the Just (German: ''Bund der Gerechten'') or League of Justice was a Christian communist international revolutionary organization. It was founded in 1836 by branching off from its ancestor, the League of Outlaws (German: ''Bund der ...

's "all men are brothers" to "working men of all countries, unite!". It reflected Marx's and Engels' view of

proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...

. The phrase has overlapping meanings: first, that workers should unite in unions to better push for their demands such as workplace pay and conditions; secondly, that workers should see beyond their various craft unions and unite against the capitalist system; and thirdly, workers of different countries have more in common with each other than workers and employers of the same country. The phrase was used by the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

(IWW) in their publications and songs

Melvyn Dubofsky Melvyn Dubofsky (born October 25, 1934) is professor emeritus of history and sociology, and a well-known labor historian. He is Bartle Distinguished Professor of History and Sociology at the Binghamton University. Dubofsky helped advance the fi ...

, ''

We Shall Be All ''We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World'' is a 1969 history book about the Industrial Workers of the World by Melvyn Dubofsky. Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * External ...

'', Quadrangle Books, 1969. and was a mainstay on banners in

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

demonstrations. The IWW used it when opposing

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and Australia. The slogan was the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's state

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

(Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь!; ''Proletarii vsekh stran, soyedinyaytes'!'') and it appeared in the State Emblem of the Soviet Union. It also appeared on 1919

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

banknotes (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and Russian), on Soviet ruble coins from 1921 to 1934 and was the slogan of Soviet newspaper ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the ...

''. Some socialist and communist parties continue using it.

Variations

In the first

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

translation of ''The Communist Manifesto'', published in 1848, the translator Pehr Götrek substituted the slogan with ''Folkets röst, Guds röst!'' (i.e. ''

Vox populi, vox Dei ''Vox Populi, Vox Dei'' is a Whig tract of 1709, titled after a Latin phrase meaning "the voice of the people is the voice of God". It was expanded in 1710 and later reprintings as ''The Judgment of whole Kingdoms and Nations: Concerning the Rig ...

'', or "The Voice of the People, the Voice of God"). However, later translations have included the original slogan.
libris 7639421
reprint o
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The guiding motto of the 2nd Comintern congress in 1920, under

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

's directive, was "Workers and oppressed peoples of all countries, unite!". This denoted the anti-

colonialist Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

agenda of the Comintern, and was seen as an attempt to unite racially-subjugated black people and the global proletariat in

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

struggle.

In other languages

This slogan was used by several socialist states as their official motto.

Motto of the Soviet Union

In each Soviet republic, the same motto was used in the local language.

Motto of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia

Motto of other countries

Motto of communist parties

The English phrase and its variants (the variant "All power to the workers" is used by some parties such as the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political parties, Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membersh ...

) are used by communist parties in the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

. The list below does not include the mottos of communist parties of the above countries or in languages listed above.

Notes

References

External links

''Manifesto of the Communist Party''
by

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Chapter 4
of ''The Communist Manifesto''.
Collection of Quotes by Karl Marx
{{Communism 1840s neologisms Communism Marxism National mottos Political catchphrases Political quotes Quotations from literature Quotations from philosophy de:Liste geflügelter Worte/P#Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch!