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About this quote

What does it mean?
Debs views Republicans and Democrats as equally corrupt capitalist parties subservient to capital and hostile to labor.
In plain terms
Both parties are capitalist, corrupt, and serve capital over labor.
What can you take from it?
Parties differ only in details but serve capital alike.

Where it applies

  • elections
  • policy making
  • labor negotiations

Putting it to work

  • support labor rights
  • challenge party dominance
  • vote independently

Questions to consider

  • Are both parties truly the same?
  • How can labor gain influence?

Another view

Parties may have policy differences that benefit workers differently.

More from Eugene V. Debs

  1. Civilization has done little for labor except to modify the forms of its exploitation.

    Permalink to quote #26
  2. First of all, Theodore Roosevelt and Charles W. Fairbanks, candidates for President and Vice-President, respectively, deny the class struggle and this almost i…

    Permalink to quote #28
  3. The united vote of those who toil and have not will vanquish those who have and toil not, and solve forever the problems of democracy.

    Permalink to quote #25

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