Item no. 28208
| June 1925 |
| Collection: Other |
"The Fruits of War" by anonymous, Industrial Pioneer June 1925.
In this cartoon, an unknown Wobbly artist drives home the significance of what war means for workers. Here a worker harvests the war plant at the beckoning of his capitalist master. The caption below explains that the worker reaps the fruits of the plant (death, pain, taxes, want, etc.) while the roots (profits) are reserved for the capitalist. It was the understanding of the IWW that at the root of all war lay capitalism's insatiable thirst for profits and complimentary quest for more resources and markets. The business class reaps the benefits of war while the worker inherits only death and misfortune. Thus, when debate began about the possibility of American involvement in the First World War, many Wobblies implored workers to "Let Death Call on the Parasite Class for its Cannon Food".
See also "The Soup Song" in the Labor Sings! Exhibit which highlights the struggles of the average worker which included fighting in wars that others profited from.
See this image in the Solidarity Forever: A Look at Wobbly Culture exhibit.
|
