Eat the rich
{{Short description|Leftist slogan attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau}}
{{Other uses|Eat the Rich (disambiguation){{!}}Eat the Rich}}
File:Madrid - 12-M 2012 demonstration - 193323.jpg symbol with a fork instead of a hammer (Madrid, 2012)]]
"Eat the rich" is a political slogan associated with anti-capitalism and left-wing politics, especially including anarchism. The phrase is commonly attributed to political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from a quote first popularized during the French Revolution: "When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich".
It may variously be used as a metaphor for class conflict or a demand for wealth redistribution, and thus often finds usage in socialist and progressive politics. The Federal Bureau of Investigation associates the phrase with "anarchist violent extremism" (AVE), while noting that "the use or sharing of these symbols or phrases alone should not independently be considered evidence of AVE presence or affiliation or serve as an indicator of illegal activity."{{Cite web| title=FBI Domestic Terrorism Symbols Guide: Anarchist Violent Extremism | url=https://publicintelligence.net/fbi-anarchist-violent-extremism-symbols/|access-date=2024-02-09|website=Public Intelligence| date=23 April 2023}}
History
= Origin =
Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, President of the Paris Commune, gave a speech to the city during the Reign of Terror on 14 October 1793 in which he apocryphally said:
{{blockquote|{{lang|fr|Rousseau faisait partie du peuple aussi, et il disait: 'Quand le peuple n'aura plus rien à manger, il mangera le riche.'{{Cite web|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of Histoire de la Révolution française, tome V, by A. Thiers.|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10953/10953-h/10953-h.htm|access-date=2021-11-27|website=www.gutenberg.org}}}}}}{{blockquote|Rousseau, who was also one of the people, said: 'When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.'}}The phrase was initially a criticism of the French nobility, but it was later popularized in France as a response to the perceived failures of the French Revolution that perpetuated poverty in the country.{{Cite web |last=Lavin |first=Talia |title=How "Eat the Rich" Became the Rallying Cry for the Digital Generation |url=https://www.gq.com/story/eat-the-rich-digital-generation |access-date=2021-04-28 |website=GQ |date=5 November 2019 |language=en-US}}{{fv|date=August 2024}}
= Modern usage =
In the 21st century, the phrase is used in response to the increasing wealth inequality and food insecurity. In the United States, the phrase was used by the crowd at a rally for progressive Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren in 2019 in approval of Warren's positions on wealth redistribution, including her position on the wealth tax.
In South Africa, the phrase "eat the rich" was used by the Land Party as its campaign slogan for the 2021 local government elections.{{Cite web |last=SA |first=Land Party |date=2020-08-22 |title=It is time to "Eat the Rich" |url=https://www.landpartysa.co.za/post/it-is-time-to-eat-the-rich |access-date=2021-11-27 |website=Landparty |language=en |archive-date=2021-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726132833/https://www.landpartysa.co.za/post/it-is-time-to-eat-the-rich |url-status=dead }}
The phrase has trended on major social networks online. It became prominent on TikTok around 2019, with users posting videos critical of the rich. Many of these videos also targeted more mundane first world behavior, directing the phrase toward people who study abroad, pay for a Spotify subscription, or have a second refrigerator. In many cases, these videos were produced to demonstrate hypocrisy of those who use the phrase while enjoying the comforts of a first world society.{{Cite web |date=2020-12-07 |title=The 'Eat The Rich' TikTok Trend Pokes Fun At The Little Signs Of Wealth No One Ever Talks About |url=https://junkee.com/eat-the-rich-tiktok/281339 |access-date=2021-04-28 |website=Junkee |language=en-US}} Usage of the phrase was noted to have increased following the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.{{Cite web |last=Presnall |first=Anna |date=28 October 2020 |title="Eat the Rich!": A Rallying Cry Against Income Inequality |url=https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2020/10/28/eat-the-rich-a-rallying-cry-against-income-inequality/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog |publisher=The University of Alabama at Birmingham}}
In 2022, Amazon union leader Christian Smalls wore a jacket which said 'Eat the Rich' to the White House when he met President Joe Biden.{{Cite web |title=Amazon fired Chris Smalls. Now the new union leader is one of its biggest problems |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/23145265/amazon-fired-chris-smalls-union-leader-alu-jeff-bezos-bernie-sanders-aoc-labor-movement-biden |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=VOX |date=7 June 2022 |language=en-US}}
In 2023, American United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain adopted the phrase for GM, Ford, and Stellantis employees' fight for increased wages and benefits in Detroit.{{Cite news |last=Streitfeld |first=David |date=2023-10-05 |title=New U.A.W. Chief Has a Nonnegotiable Demand: Eat the Rich |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/business/economy/shawn-fain-uaw-profile.html |access-date=2023-11-04 |issn=0362-4331}}
In popular culture
The phrase has been used for the title of a 1987 film and a song for the film by Motörhead. It was also the title of a 1993 song by Aerosmith. The book Eat the Rich was published by P. J. O'Rourke in 1998. The comic series Eat the Rich debuted in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Miles |first=John |date=2022-01-08 |title=Why is the Dark and Horrifying Cannibal Comic 'Eat the Rich' Kind of... Funny? |url=https://www.cbr.com/eat-the-rich-humorous/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=CBR |language=en-US}}
Many films have been described as "eat the rich movies". This theme was particularly notable in 2019 with the releases of films such as Joker, Parasite, Knives Out, and Ready or Not and in 2022 with the releases of Triangle of Sadness, The Menu, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Jacinda |date=2020-01-06 |title=Eat the Rich! – What 2019's Films Had to Say About Wealth and Privilege |url=https://flipscreened.com/2020/01/06/eat-the-rich-what-2019s-films-had-to-say-about-wealth-and-privilege/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=Flip Screen |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=de Castro |first=Elijah |date=19 May 2020 |title="Eat the rich" phenomenon dominates popular films |url=https://theithacan.org/columns/eat-the-rich-phenomenon-dominates-popular-films/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=The Ithacan |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Myers |first=Kimber |date=2022-12-31 |title=How eat-the-rich comedies changed during COVID |url=https://mashable.com/article/eat-the-rich-comedies-2022 |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=Mashable |language=en}}
Season four (2023) of the TV show You features an "Eat the Rich" killer.{{cite news |last=Wood |first=Becca |date=10 March 2023 |title=Who is the 'Eat the Rich' killer in 'You' Season 4? |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/tv/eat-rich-killer-season-4-explained-who-rcna71815 |access-date=26 June 2024 |work=Today |agency=}}
Eat the Rich is the theme for a retrospective exhibition at the 2024 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.{{Cite web |last=Croll |first=Ben |date=2024-06-27 |title=At NIFFF, Class Struggle Retrospective Invites Attendees to Eat the Rich |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/nifff-eat-the-rich-snowpiercer-society-hitchcock-1236050521/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
See also
References
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=Works cited=
{{Refbegin}}
- {{Cite book |last=Zitelmann |first=Rainer |title=The Rich in Public Opinion: What We Think When We Think About Wealth |year=2020 |publisher=Cato Institute |isbn=9781948647687 |language=en}}
{{Refend}}