eat the rich en · X
Etymology
Attributed to the Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The original quotation was: “Quand le peuple n’aura plus rien à manger, il mangera le riche.” (“When the people shall have no more to eat, they will eat the rich.”) Became popular in the 21st-century United States as an anti-capitalist motto in left-wing online communities.
Meanings
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(idiomatic, slang) An expression of contempt towards capitalism and the rich, demanding an equitable redistribution of wealth.
There have been many cries to “eat the rich” over recent years in relation to white collar crime.
2011 January, Diane Wiley, “Eat the Rich: Juror Questionnaires for White Collar Cases”, in The Jury Expert, volume 23, number 1, Timonium, Maryland: American Society of Trial Consultants, →ISSN, page 43:The eat-the-rich movie is directed by Mark Mylod, whose recent work includes episodes of “Succession,” “Shameless,” and “Game of Thrones” […]
2022 July 10, Jordan Hoffman, “‘What, Are We Eating a Rolex?’ ‘The Menu’ Full Trailer Is Revealed”, in GoldDerby:Eat the Rich:
1993, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jim Vallance, “Eat the Rich” (track 2), in Get a Grip, performed by Aerosmith, Los Angeles: Geffen Records:There is something thrilling about an artwork that does not just investigate, explore or expose questions about today, but makes explicit the injustices of the present system, proudly brandishing a call to eat the rich and fight a class war.
2018 June 7, Chris Hayes, “Democracia, ORDER”, in Circa Art Magazine, →JSTOR, retrieved 06 Dec 2022:There's this whole cycle of eat-the-rich movies right now with “Joker” and “Parasite.” How do you feel knowing the movie you’ve made and then seeing those other movies coming out?
2019 November 28, Mark Olsen, “‘Knives Out’ Ending Explained: How Rian Johnson’s Socially Relevant Mystery Pays Tribute to the Past”, in Los Angeles Times:First of all, I want to say I’m not a fan of the, how do I say, advertisement of the movie as an “eat the rich” movie because what I actually tried to do was to portray everybody as nice.
2022 November 4, Lilah Raptopoulos, quoting Ruben Östlund, “‘Triangle of Sadness’ with Director Ruben Östlund”, in Financial Times, London:
Translations (15)
fr mangeons les riches (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · cmn 吃掉富人 (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · es cómete a los ricos (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · ca menja't els rics (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · fi syö rikkaita (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · ja 金持ちを喰らえ (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · ko 부자들을 먹어라 (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · be з’еш багацеяў (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · ar كلوا الأغنياء (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · pt comam os ricos (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · be сажры багацеяў (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · it mangia i ricchi (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · ru ешь богатых (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · nn et dei rike (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty) · nb spis de rike (expression of contempt towards the rich, capitalism and widespread poverty)