7/13/23, 12:33 PM Workers of the world, unite!

- Wikipedia

Workers of the world, unite!

The political slogan "Workers of the world, unite!" is
one of the rallying cries from The Communist Manifesto
(1848)[1][2][3][4] by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
(German: Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!, literally
'Proletarians of all countries, unite!',[5] but soon
popularised in English as "Workers of the world, unite! You
have nothing to lose but your chains!").[5][note 1] A variation
of this phrase ("Workers of all lands, unite") is also inscribed
on Marx's tombstone.[7] The essence of the slogan is that
members of the working classes throughout the world should A Kuban Cossacks squadron at the 1937
cooperate to defeat capitalism and achieve victory in the May Day parade in Moscow, marching
class conflict. across the phrase written in German,
Spanish, Russian and other languages

Overview
Five years before The Communist Manifesto, this phrase appeared
in the 1843 book The Workers' Union by Flora Tristan.[8]

The International Workingmen's Association, described by Engels

as "the first international movement of the working class" was
persuaded by Engels to change its motto from the League of the
Just's "all men are brothers" to "working men of all countries,
unite!".[9] It reflected Marx's and Engels' view of proletarian
internationalism.

The phrase has overlapping meanings: first, that workers should

unite in unions to better push for their demands such as workplace
The State Emblem of the Soviet
pay and conditions;[10] secondly, that workers should see beyond
Union had the slogan emblazoned
their various craft unions and unite against the capitalist
on the ribbons in 15 languages
system;[11] and thirdly, workers of different countries have more in spoken in the republics
common with each other than workers and employers of the same
country.

The phrase was used by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in their publications and
songs[12][13] and was a mainstay on banners in May Day demonstrations. The IWW used it when
opposing World War I in both the United States[13] and Australia.[14]

The slogan was the Soviet Union's state motto (Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь!; Proletarii
vsekh stran, soyedinyaytes'!) and it appeared in the State Emblem of the Soviet Union. It also
appeared on 1919 Russian SFSR banknotes (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and
Russian),[15] on Soviet ruble coins from 1921 to 1934[16] and was the slogan of Soviet newspaper
Pravda.[17]

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Some socialist and communist parties continue using it.[18]

Variations
In the first Swedish translation of The Communist Manifesto,
published in 1848, the translator Pehr Götrek substituted the
slogan with Folkets röst, Guds röst! (i.e. Vox populi, vox Dei, or
"The Voice of the People, the Voice of God"). However, later
translations have included the original slogan.[19]

The guiding motto of the 2nd Comintern congress in 1920, under

Lenin's directive, was "Workers and oppressed peoples of all
countries, unite!".[20] This denoted the anti-colonialist agenda of
the Comintern, and was seen as an attempt to unite racially-
subjugated black people and the global proletariat in anti-
imperialist struggle.[20]

In other languages The tomb of Karl Marx at Highgate

Cemetery bearing the slogan
"Workers of All Lands Unite"
This slogan was used by several socialist states and communist
parties as their official motto.

Motto of the Soviet Union

In each Soviet republic, the same motto was used in the local
language.

In this still from the historical drama

The Man with the Gun, the phrase
(in pre-reform Russian orthography)
is depicted on a banner in the
background.

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Language [hide] Motto Transliteration Used by

Атәылақуа зегьы рпролетарцәа, Aṭ°əlakwa zeg'y rproletarc°a,

Abkhaz Abkhaz ASSR
шәҽеидышәкыл! š°čeidyš°kyl!

Պրոլետարներ բոլոր երկրների, Proletarner bolor yerkrneri,

Armenian Armenian SSR
միացե՛ք miats’ek’!
Киналго улкабазул пролетарал, Kinalgo ulkabazul proletaral,
Avar Dagestan ASSR
цолъе нуж! soļe nuƶ!

Бүтүн өлкәләрин пролетарлары, Bütün ölkələrin proletarları, Azerbaijan SSR,

Azerbaijani
бирләшин! birləşin! Dagestan ASSR

Бөтә илдәрҙең пролетарийҙәре, Böte ilderdheꞑ proletarijdhere,

Bashkir Bashkir ASSR
берләшегеҙ! berleçegedh!
Praletaryji ŭsich krajin,
Belarusian Пралетарыі ўсіх краін, яднайцеся! Byelorussian SSR
jadnajciesia!

Бүхы оронуудай пролетаринар, Bükhy oronuuday proletarinar,

Buryat Buryat ASSR
нэгэдэгты! negedegty!

Checheno-Ingush
Массо а мехкийн пролетареш, Masso a mexkiyn proletareş,
Chechen ASSR
цхьанакхета! cẋanakxeta!
Dagestan ASSR
Пӗтӗм тӗнчери пролетарисем, Pĕtĕm tĕnçeri proletarisem,
Chuvash Chuvash ASSR
пӗрлешӗр! pĕrlešĕr!

Бютюн мемлекетлерининъ Bütün memleketleriniñ

Crimean Tatar Crimean ASSR
пролетарлары, бирлешинъиз! proletarları, birleşiñiz!

Чыла элласе пролетарий-влак, Čila ellase proletarij-vlak,

Erzyan Mordovian ASSR
ушныза! ušniza!
Estonian Kõigi maade proletaarlased, ühinege! Estonian SSR

Karelo-Finnish
Kaikkien maiden proletaarit, liittykää
Finnish SSR,
yhteen!
Karelian ASSR

პროლეტარებო ყველა ქვეყნისა, Proletarebo qvela kveqnisa,

Georgian Georgian SSR
შეერთდით! sheertdit!

Масса а мехкашкара пролетареш Massa a mexkashkara Checheno-Ingush

Ingush
вӀашагӀкхета! proletaresh vwashaghxeta! ASSR

Хэгъэгу пстэухэм япролетариехэр, Xǎg˚ǎgu pstǎuxǎm Kabardino-Balkar

Kabardian
зы шъухъу! japroletariexǎr, zə ŝ˚χ˚! ASSR
Цуг-орн нутгудын пролетармуд, Cug-orn nutgudyn proletarmud,
Kalmyk Kalmyk ASSR
негдцхәтн! negdcha̋ tn!

Бютеу дунияны пролетарлары, Byteu duniyany proletarlary, Kabardino-Balkar

Karachay-Balkar
бирлешигиз! birleşigiz! ASSR

Барлык еллердин пролетарлары, Barlık ellerdin proletarları,

Karakalpak Karakalpak ASSR
бирлесиниз! birlesiniz!
Барлық елдердің пролетарлары, Barlyq elderdıñ proletarlary,
Kazakh Kazakh SSR
бірігіңдер! bırıgıñder!

Став мувывса пролетарийяс, Stav muvyvsa proletarijjas,

Komi Komi ASSR
oтувтчӧй! otuvtćöj!

Бардык өлкөлордүн пролетарлары, Bardık ölkölordün proletarları,

Kyrgyz Kirghiz SSR
бириккиле! birikkile!

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Latvian Visu zemju proletārieši, savienojieties! Latvian SSR

Lithuanian Visų šalių proletarai, vienykitės! Lithuanian SSR

Чыла элласе пролетарий-влак, Çyla ellase proletarij-vlak,

Mari Mari ASSR
ушныза! uşnyza!

Чыла элласе пролетарий-влак, Či͔ la ellase proletarij-vlak,

Moksha Mordovian ASSR
ушныза! ušni͔ za!
Ӕппӕт бӕстӕты пролетартӕ баиу Æppæt bæstæty proletartæ North Ossetian
Ossetian
ут! baiu ut! ASSR

Romanian Пролетарь дин тоате цэриле, уници- Proletari din toate țările, uniți-
Moldavian SSR
(Moldovan Cyrillic) вэ! vă!

Пролетарии всех стран, Proĺetarii vśeh stran, Russian SFSR,

Russian
соединяйтесь! sojedińajt́eś! Soviet Union
Бары дойдулар пролетарийдара, Bary doǐdular proletariǐdara,
Sakha Yakut ASSR
холбоһуҥ! kholboḣuṅ!

Пролетарҳои ҳамаи мамлакатҳо, як Proletarhoji hamaji mamlakatho,

Tajik Tajik SSR
шавед! jak şaved!

Барлык илләрнең пролетарийлары, Varlık illärneñ proletariyları,

Tatar Tatar ASSR
берләшегез! berläşegez!
Әхли юртларың пролетарлары, Ähli ýurtlaryň proletarlary,
Turkmen Turkmen SSR
бирлешиң! birleşiň!

Вань странаосысь пролетарийёс, Van' stranaosys' proletariyyos,

Udmurt Udmurt ASSR
огазеяське! ogazeyas'ke!

Proletari vsich krajin,

Ukrainian Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся! Ukrainian SSR
jednajtesja!
Бутун дунё пролетарлари, Butun dunyo proletarlari,
Uzbek Uzbek SSR
бирлашингиз! birlashingiz!

Motto of other countries

[hide]
Motto Transliteration Used by
Language

Proletarë të të gjitha vendeve,

Albanian Albania
bashkohuni!
Пролетарии от всички страни Proletárii ot vsíchki straní,
Bulgarian Bulgaria
съединявайте се! sǎеdinyávaite se!

全世界無產階級和被壓迫的民族聯合起 Quánshìjiè wúchǎnjiējí hé bèi yāpò Chinese Soviet

Chinese
來！ de mínzú liánhé qǐlai! Republic

Czech Proletáři všech zemí, spojte se! Czechoslovakia

Dari !‫کارگران جهان متحد شوید‬ Kârgarân-e jahân mottahed šavid! Afghanistan

Prolétaires de tous les pays, unissez- Benin,

French
vous ! Madagascar

East Germany,
German Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!
Volga German ASSR
Hungarian Világ proletárjai, egyesüljetek! Hungarian People's
Republic,

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Hungarian Soviet
Republic

Mpiasa eran'izao tontolo izao,

Malagasy Madagascar
mampiray!
Орон бүрийн пролетари нар
Mongolian Oron büriin proletari nar negdegtün! Mongolia
нэгдэгтүн!

Proletariusze wszystkich krajów, Polish People's

Polish
łączcie się! Republic

Romanian Proletari din toate țările, uniți-vă! Romania

Czechoslovakia,
Slovak Proletári všetkých krajín, spojte sa! Slovak Soviet
Republic

Бүгү телегейниң пролетарлары Tuvan People's

Pygy delegejniꞑ вroledarlarь polgaş
Tuvan болгаш дарлаткан араттары Republic,
tarladkan araddarь kaddьƶьꞑar!
каттыжыңар! Tuvan ASSR

Motto of communist parties

The English phrase and its variants (the variant "All power to the workers" is used by some parties
such as the Communist Party of Australia) are used by communist parties in the English-speaking
world. The list below does not include the mottos of communist parties of the above countries or in
languages listed above.

[hide]
Motto Transliteration Used by Active in
Language

‫يا عمال العالم ويا شعوبه‬ Ya ‘ummāla l-‘ālami wa yā Jordanian Communist

Arabic Jordan
!‫ اتحدوا‬،‫المضطهدة‬ shu‘ūbahu l-muṭṭahada, ittaḥidū! Party

Προλετάριοι όλων των Proletarii ólon ton khorón, Communist Party of

Greek Greece
χωρών, ενωθείτε! enothíte! Greece

League of
Пролетери од сите земји, Proleteri od site zemji,
Macedonian Communists of Yugoslavia
обединете се! obedinete se!
Macedonia

Kaum buruh semua negeri, Malayan Communist

Malay Malaysia
bersatulah! Party
League of
Serbo- Пролетери свих земаља Proleteri svih zemalja, ujedinite
Communists of Yugoslavia
Croatian уједините се! se!
Yugoslavia

League of
Proletarci vseh dežel,
Slovene Communists of Yugoslavia
združite se!
Slovenia

Manggagawa ng lahat ng Communist Party of

Tagalog Philippines
bansa, magkaisa! the Philippines
Bütün ülkelerin işçileri ve Socialist Liberation
Turkish Turkey
ezilen halklar, birleşin![a] Party

See also
Communist society
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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs

Labour movement
Proletarian internationalism
Social patriotism
World communism
World revolution
Emblem of the Soviet Union

Notes
1. The final paragraph of The Communist Manifesto was translated by Samuel Moore as follows:
"The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends
can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling
classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their
chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!". This
translation is the authorized translation by Marx and Engels and is the most commonly used
version in English.[6]

a. Literally "Workers of all countries and oppressed people, unite!

References
1. Gabrijela Kišiček; Igor Ž. Žagar (3 October 2013). What Do We Know About the World?:
Rhetorical and Argumentative Perspectives (https://books.google.com/books?id=RlKaBQAAQBAJ
&pg=PA471). University of Windsor. p. 471. ISBN 978-0-920233-70-2. "One of the most famous
rallying cries of communism Workers of the world, unite!"
2. Simon Levis Sullam (21 October 2015). Giuseppe Mazzini and the Origins of Fascism (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=YGbeCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT91). Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 91. ISBN 978-
1-137-51459-2. "only a few years later, would give the famous rallying cry Workers of t..."
3. Edward R. Kantowicz (1999). The Rage of Nations (https://archive.org/details/rageofnations0000k
ant). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 21 (https://archive.org/details/rageofnations0000kant/page/
21). ISBN 978-0-8028-4455-2. "titled The Communist Manifesto, which contained the famous
rallying cry: "Workers of the w..."
4. Ronald Niezen (15 April 2008). A World Beyond Difference: Cultural Identity in the Age of
Globalization (https://books.google.com/books?id=m8W6xPPdYLcC&pg=PA129). John Wiley &
Sons. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4051-3710-2. "The famous rallying cry from The Communist Manifesto,
"workers of the world unite!" was meant only to hasten the [...]"
5. "Translator's note to the Communist Manifesto" (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/184
8/communist-manifesto/ch04.htm). Marxists.org. Marxist Internet Archive. Retrieved 14 February
2015.
6. Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (2002). Jones, Gareth Stedman (ed.). The Communist Manifesto (htt
ps://archive.org/details/communistmanifes00marx_5) (New ed.). London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-
140-44757-6.
7. Wheen, Francis (2002). "Introduction". Karl Marx: A Life. New York: Norton.
8. Marie M. Collins and Sylvie Weil-Sayre (1973). "Flora Tristan: Forgotten Feminist and Socialist".
Nineteenth-Century French Studies. 1 (4): 229–234. JSTOR 23535978 (https://www.jstor.org/stabl
e/23535978).

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7/13/23, 12:33 PM Workers of the world, unite! - Wikipedia

9. Lucia Pradella in 'The Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics.' Edited by Ben fine and Alfredo
Saad-Filho, 2012, p.178.
10. Wiktionary, entry for "Workers of the World"
11. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, 1848. [1] (https://www.marxists.org/ar
chive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/)
12. Joseph Grim Feinberg, "The Gifts of the IWW," Against the Current 117, July–August 2005. [2] (htt
p://www.solidarity-us.org/node/51)
13. Melvyn Dubofsky, We Shall Be All, Quadrangle Books, 1969.
14. Nick Armstrong, "The Industrial Workers of the World," Socialist Alternative, June 2005. [3] (http://
www.sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=5592:the-industrial-workers-of-the-world
&Itemid=412)
15. Anderson, Joel. "RUSSIAN COINS AND CURRENCY" (https://www.joelscoins.com/russia.htm).
Interesting World Coins.
16. "Communist States: Russia and China" (http://www.coinlands.com/communist-states.html).
www.coinlands.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
17. Heritage, Timothy (4 May 2012). "Russia's Pravda hits 100, still urging workers to unite" (https://w
ww.reuters.com/article/russia-pravda-idUKL5E8G41L820120504). Reuters. Retrieved 18 April
2021.
18. Thurston, Robert W.; Bonwetsch, Bernd (2000). The People's War: Responses to World War II in
the Soviet Union (https://archive.org/details/peopleswarrespon00robe) (illustrated ed.). University
of Illinois Press. p. 64 (https://archive.org/details/peopleswarrespon00robe/page/64).
ISBN 9780252026003. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
19. Götrek, Pehr (1848). Kommunismens röst : förklaring af det kommunistiska partiet, offentliggjord i
februari 1848. Pogo Press. ISBN 91-7386-018-2.. libris 7639421 (http://libris.kb.se/bib/7639421).
reprint of libris 2683080 (http://libris.kb.se/bib/2683080).
20. Pateman, Joe (2 January 2020). "V. I. Lenin on the 'Black Question' " (https://www.tandfonline.co
m/doi/abs/10.1080/03017605.2019.1706786). Critique. 48 (1): 77–93.
doi:10.1080/03017605.2019.1706786 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F03017605.2019.1706786).
ISSN 0301-7605 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0301-7605). S2CID 213348492 (https://api.seman
ticscholar.org/CorpusID:213348492). Retrieved 9 November 2020.

External links
Manifesto of the Communist Party (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-
manifesto) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Translated by Samuel Moore in cooperation with
Frederick Engels, 1888.
Chapter 4 (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch04.htm)
of The Communist Manifesto.
Collection of Quotes by Karl Marx (https://readbeach.com/quotes/by/Karl+Marx)

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