A short chain of dark and gold links, a separate gold link and a dried rose on a pale blue surface.

Original artwork, not a still

Karl Marx

Rise up, all of you poor; you have nothing to lose but your chains.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Marx urges the poor to rise up, telling them their only loss would be their chains. Chains stand for bondage, so the call frames revolt as something with little to fear. It's a rallying cry that treats oppression as the very thing worth shedding.

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