Madrid - 12-M 2012 demonstration - 193323

"Eat the rich" is a political slogan associated with class conflict and anti-capitalism. The phrase is commonly attributed to political philosopher

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

, from a quote first popularized during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

: "When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich".

History

Origin

Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, President of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

, gave a speech to the city during the Reign of Terror on 14 October 1793 in which he said: The phrase was initially a criticism of the

French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napol ...

, but it was later popularized in France as a response to the perceived failures of the

that perpetuated poverty in the country.

Modern usage

In the 21st century, the phrase is used in response to the increasing

wealth inequality The distribution of wealth is a comparison of the wealth of various members or groups in a society. It shows one aspect of economic inequality or heterogeneity in economics, economic heterogeneity. The distribution of wealth differs from the i ...

and

food insecurity Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...

. In the United States, the phrase was used by the crowd at a rally for progressive Democratic candidate

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

in 2019 in approval of Warren's positions on wealth redistribution, including her position on the

wealth tax A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and pension plans, ownershi ...

. In South Africa, the phrase "eat the rich" was used by the

Land Party The Land Party ( gl, Partido da Terra, ) is a Galicia (Spain), Galician political party that was established in 2011. Party platform The party platform, party's platform encompasses eight types of sovereignty: * Popular sovereignty, citizen sove ...

as its campaign slogan for the 2021 local government elections. The phrase has trended on major social networks online. It became prominent on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version o ...

in the late 2010s, with users posting videos critical of the rich. Usage of the phrase was noted to have increased following the

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countri ...

in 2020.

In popular culture

The phrase has been used for the title of a 1987 film and a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

for the film by

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

. It was also the title of a 1993

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. 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 Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

'', ''

Knives Out ''Knives Out'' is a 2019 American mystery film written, directed, and co-produced by Rian Johnson. It follows a master detective, Benoit Blanc, investigating the death of the patriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family. The film stars an ensem ...

'', and '' Ready or Not'' and in 2022 with the releases of ''

Triangle of Sadness ''Triangle of Sadness'' (french: Sans filtre, lit=Without Filter) is a 2022 satirical black comedy film written and directed by Ruben Östlund in his English-language feature film debut. The film stars Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly de ...

'', ''

The Menu ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'', ''and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery''.

References

Works cited