"Eat the rich" is a political slogan associated with anti-capitalism and left-wing politics, as well as sometimes anarchist violent extremism. [1] It may variously be used as a metaphor for class conflict, a demand for wealth redistribution. The phrase is commonly attributed to political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from a quote first popularized during the French Revolution: "When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich".
Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, President of the Paris Commune, gave a speech to the city during the Reign of Terror on 14 October 1793 in which he said:
Rousseau faisait parti du peuple aussi, et il disait: 'Quand le peuple n'aura plus rien à manger, il mangera le riche.' [2]
Rousseau, who was also one of the people, said: 'When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.'
The phrase was initially a criticism of the French nobility, but it was later popularized in France as a response to the perceived failures of the French Revolution that perpetuated poverty in the country. [3]
In the 21st century, the phrase is used in response to the increasing wealth inequality and food insecurity. In the United States, the phrase was used by the crowd at a rally for progressive Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren in 2019 in approval of Warren's positions on wealth redistribution, including her position on the wealth tax. [3]
In South Africa, the phrase "eat the rich" was used by the Land Party as its campaign slogan for the 2021 local government elections. [4]
The phrase has trended on major social networks online. It became prominent on TikTok around 2019, with users posting videos critical of the rich. [3] Many of these videos also targeted more mundane first world behavior, directing the phrase toward people who study abroad, pay for a Spotify subscription, or have a second refrigerator. In many cases, these videos were produced to demonstrate hypocrisy of those who use the phrase while enjoying the comforts of a first world society. [5] Usage of the phrase was noted to have increased following the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. [6]
In 2022, Amazon union leader Christian Smalls wore a jacket which said 'Eat the Rich' to the White House when he met President Joe Biden. [7]
In 2023, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain adopted the phrase for GM, Ford, and Stellantis employees' fight for increased wages and benefits in Detroit. [8]
In May 2024, a boycott started urging customers to shop elsewhere and avoid Loblaws in order to cut costs and support independent grocers. [9]
The phrase has been used for the title of a 1987 film and a song for the film by Motörhead. It was also the title of a 1993 song by Aerosmith. [3] The book Eat the Rich was published by P. J. O'Rourke in 1998. The comic series Eat the Rich debuted in 2021. [10]
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 , Knives Out , and Ready or Not and in 2022 with the releases of Triangle of Sadness , The Menu , and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery . [11] [12] [13]
Season four (2023) of the TV show You features an "Eat the Rich" killer. [14]
Eat the Rich is the theme for a retrospective exhibition at the 2024 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival. [15]
Rainer Zitelmann, a real estate expert, argues that language like "Eat the Rich" is prejudicial, perpetuating stereotypes, and engaging in classism. [16] He also says that it can serve to dehumanize people wealthier than the speaker and poses risks of inciting violence. [17] Left-wing critics of the term argue that it is used hypocritically by those in the middle class that have relatively comfortable lives. [5]
In the entertainment industry, sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game, or other entertainment product that was unpromising on release but became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have little promotion or lack a successful launch but gradually develops a fandom following media attention, which in turn increases its public exposure and public interest in the product. As Variety puts it, "A 'sleeper hit' can be defined as the kind of show that catches us by surprise—programs whose popularity grows over time and can ultimately outshine the preordained hits." A sleeper hit often lacks star performers or high production values, but prevails, at times against its own makers' expectations, on the strength of such qualities as narrative, approach, or novelty, as well as market accidents. Sleeper hit films benefit theater owners because the owners keep a larger percentage of money from ticket sales.
The ick is a slang term used to describe a feeling of disgust that arises towards a love interest, usually after a specific, often trivial, behavior. The phrase was popularized by Love Island in 2017 and attracted further attention TikTok in 2020, where many videos feature women listing their icks.
Rainer Zitelmann is a German historian, sociologist, author, management consultant and real estate expert.
ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Haidian, Beijing and incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 60 minutes. It can be accessed with a smartphone app.
Zhang Yiming is a Chinese internet entrepreneur. He founded ByteDance in 2012, developed the news aggregator Toutiao and the video sharing platform Douyin. As of March 2024, Zhang's personal wealth was estimated at US$40.2 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the second-richest person in China, after Zhong Shanshan. On November 4, 2021, Zhang stepped down as CEO of ByteDance, completing a leadership handover announced in May 2021. According to Reuters, Zhang maintains over 50 percent of ByteDance's voting rights.
Jack Stauber is an American musician, animator, and internet personality based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is known for his VHS-aesthetic live-action, stop motion, and computer animated music videos, which have been featured in internet memes.
"OK boomer" or "okay boomer" is a catchphrase and internet meme that has been used by members of the Millennial generation and Generation Z to dismiss or mock attitudes typically associated with baby boomers – people born in the two decades following World War II. The phrase first drew widespread attention due to a November 2019 TikTok video in response to an older man, though the phrase had been coined years before that. Considered by some to be ageist, the phrase has developed into a retort for resistance to technological change, climate change denial, marginalization of members of minority groups, or opposition to younger generations' values.
Charli Grace D'Amelio is an American social media personality. She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-sharing platform TikTok. She quickly amassed a large following and subsequently became the most-followed creator on the platform in March 2020 until she was surpassed by Khaby Lame in June 2022. With over 151 million followers, she is the second most-followed person on TikTok, as of 2024.
Addison Rae Easterling is an American dancer, actress and singer. Rae rose to fame on TikTok and has amassed over 88 million followers, making her the fifth most-followed individual on the platform.
Many countries have imposed past or ongoing restrictions on the video sharing social network TikTok. Bans from government devices usually stem from national security concerns over potential access of data by the Chinese government. Other bans have cited children's well-being and offensive content such as pornography.
Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, popularly known as That Vegan Teacher, is a Canadian animal rights activist, internet personality and former educator, mainly known for promoting veganism. Before she started her online career, Diekmeyer was a nurse and later an ESL teacher but eventually left the latter job at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Diekmeyer is known for her TikTok and YouTube accounts that promote veganism. Some of Diekmeyer's content has been controversial, and has prompted accusations of racism and homophobia.
Abbie Richards is a misinformation educator and environmental activist whose conspiracy theory charts went viral on Twitter in 2020 and 2021.
There are reports of TikTok censoring political content related to China and other countries as well as content from minority creators. TikTok says that its initial content moderation policies, many of which are no longer applicable, were aimed at reducing divisiveness and were not politically motivated.
TikTok food trends are specific food recipes and food-related fads on the social media platform TikTok. This content amassed popularity in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people cooked and ate at home and more people turned to social media for entertainment. While some TikTok users share their diets and recipes, others expand their brand or image on TikTok through step-by-step videos of easy and popular recipes. Users often refer to food-related content as "FoodTok."
Algorithmic radicalization is the concept that recommender algorithms on popular social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook drive users toward progressively more extreme content over time, leading to them developing radicalized extremist political views. Algorithms record user interactions, from likes/dislikes to amount of time spent on posts, to generate endless media aimed to keep users engaged. Through echo chamber channels, the consumer is driven to be more polarized through preferences in media and self-confirmation.
In 2020, the United States government announced that it was considering banning the Chinese social media platform TikTok upon a request from then-president Donald Trump, who viewed the app as a national security threat. The result was that TikTok owner ByteDance—which initially planned on selling a small portion of TikTok to an American company—agreed to divest TikTok to prevent a ban in the United States and in other countries where restrictions are also being considered due to privacy concerns, which themselves are mostly related to its ownership by a firm based in China.
Christina Najjar, also known as Tinx, is an influencer. She began posting on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic and has dubbed herself "TikTok's older sister" due to her advice about relationships and mental health. She is known for her content around dating advice, celebrity commentary, and "starter packs for rich moms".