Mother Jones Quotes
There are two forces in this and in every other nation of the world today. One force is the taker and the other force is the maker.
Mary Harris Jones, 1830-1930, [Mother Jones], Co-Founder, Social Democratic Party and IWW, Labor Organizer, Speech, Convention of the United Mine Workers Association, Indianapolis, IN, 1902
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Ardent socialists make the same complaint—that critics often compare realistic socialist societies with capitalist utopias, and they conclude when reality is considered, socialism is the better system.
At the time, it did seem impossible that labor and capital would ever have harmonious relations. But the notion that slavery would solve the problem is as preposterous as anything ever entered into the American political dialogue. But there were many in the South, and some in the North, who actually believed it. Even 150 years later, while labor and capital relations were much better than pre Civil War, they still could not be described as “harmonious” or “friendly”.
The socialist extremists wanted the state to own all the major businesses which would be operated without a profit allowing more money to be paid to the workers without any price increase for the consumer. Yet, many of them wanted the innovation and other virtues of the private sector and few were ready to take on the political chaos that would be involved in eliminating private ownership of businesses. Crosland forced them to logically accept the concept of profits as desirable for the society.
Mary G. Harris Jones, known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She helped coordinate major strikes and co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World.
