The most that a working-class party could do, even if its politicians remained honest, would be to form a strong faction in the legislatures which might, by combining its vote with one side or another, win certain political or economic palliatives. But what the working-class can do, when once they grow into a solidified organization, is to show the possessing class, through a sudden cessation of all work, that the whole social structure rests on them; that the possessions of the others are absolutely worthless to them without the workers' activity; that such protests, such strikes, are inherent in the system of property and will continually recur until the whole thing is abolished - and having shown that effectively, proceed to expropriate.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- De Cleyre argues that workers hold structural power and can dismantle capitalism through collective strikes.
- In plain terms
- Workers can stop society by stopping work, showing their power.
- What can you take from it?
- Organized labor can reshape society by withholding work.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much power do workers really have?
- Can economy alone change society?
Another view
Strikes can have severe consequences for workers who depend on wages.
More from Voltairine de Cleyre
There is one common struggle against those who have appropriated the earth, the money, and the machines.
Permalink to quote #47 Workers, the most absolutely necessary part of the whole social structure, without whose services none can either eat, or clothe, or shelter himself, are just …
Permalink to quote #46 Those who, by the essence of their belief, are committed to Direct Action only are - just who? Why,the non-resistants; precisely those who do not believe in vi…
Permalink to quote #45
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