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Workers of the world, unite!
Rallying cry from The Communist Manifesto From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The political slogan "Workers of the world, unite!" is one of the rallying cries from The Communist Manifesto (1848)[1][2][3][4] by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (German: Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!, literally 'Proletarians of all countries, unite!',[5] but soon popularised in English as "Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!").[5][note 1]
![Thumb](#/media/File:Proletаrier_aller_Länder,_vereinigt_euch!"_in_Chemnitz..._7d_origWI.jpg)
A variation of this phrase ("Workers of all lands, unite") is also inscribed on Marx's tombstone.[7] The essence of the slogan is that members of the working classes throughout the world should cooperate to defeat capitalism and achieve victory in the class conflict.[8]
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Five years before The Communist Manifesto, this phrase appeared in the 1843 book The Workers' Union by Flora Tristan.[9]
The International Workingmen's Association, 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's "all men are brothers" to "working men of all countries, unite!".[10] It reflected Marx's and Engels' view of proletarian internationalism.
The phrase has overlapping meanings: first, that workers should unite in unions to better push for their demands such as workplace pay and conditions;[11][better source needed] secondly, that workers should see beyond their various craft unions and unite against the capitalist system;[12] 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 (IWW) in their publications and songs[13][14] and was a mainstay on banners in May Day demonstrations. The IWW used it when opposing World War I in both the United States[14] and Australia.[15]
The slogan was the Soviet Union's state motto (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 banknotes (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and Russian),[16] on Soviet ruble coins from 1921 to 1934[17] and was the slogan of Soviet newspaper Pravda.[18]
Some socialist and communist parties continue using it.[19]
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Variations
In the first Swedish 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, or "The Voice of the People, the Voice of God"). However, later translations have included the original slogan.[20]
The guiding motto of the 2nd Comintern congress in 1920, under Lenin's directive, was "Workers and oppressed peoples of all countries, unite!".[21] This denoted the anti-colonialist agenda of the Comintern, and was seen as an attempt to unite racially-subjugated black people and the global proletariat in anti-imperialist struggle.[21]
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In other languages
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This slogan was used by several socialist states and communist parties as their official motto.
Motto of the Soviet Union
In each Soviet republic, the same motto was used in the local language.
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) are used by communist parties in the English-speaking world. The list below does not include the mottos of communist parties of the above countries or in languages listed above.
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Notes
- The final paragraph of The Communist Manifesto was translated by Samuel Moore as follows: "The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!". This translation is the authorized translation by Marx and Engels and is the most commonly used version in English.[6]
- This is not the usual modern Chinese translation of the slogan. The most common one nowadays is 全世界無産者，聯合起來！ (Quánshìjiè wúchǎnzhě, liánhé qǐlái!)
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