workers of the world, unite

Meaning

Phrase

• Laborers are encouraged to unionize or otherwise engage in collective action on a global scale in order to use the strength of their numbers to obtain better conditions.

Origin

• The phrase, one of the most famous rallying cries of communism, comes from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' The Communist Manifesto; later the official motto of the Soviet Union. A variation (workers of all lands, unite!) is inscribed on Marx's tombstone. The actual translation is more normally given as "Working men", or "Proletarians of all countries, unite!" ('''').