--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The class struggle had a just motive, and…" description: "\"“The class struggle had a just motive, and Socialism at the beginning was in the right. What has happened is that instead of pursuing its original path..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/jos-antonio-rivera-175588_class-struggle_the-class-struggle-had-a-just-motive-and_112711.jpg" --- # The class struggle had a just motive, and Socialism at the… ![“The class struggle had a just motive, and Socialism at the beginning was in the right. What has happened is that instead of pursuing its original path of seeking after social justice among men. Socialism has turned into a mere doctrine, and one of the chilliest frigidity, and it has no concern…” quote by José Antonio Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/jos-antonio-rivera-175588_class-struggle_the-class-struggle-had-a-just-motive-and_112711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/jos-antonio-rivera-175588_class-struggle_the-class-struggle-had-a-just-motive-and_112711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/jos-antonio-rivera-175588_class-struggle_the-class-struggle-had-a-just-motive-and_112711.jpg) > ““The class struggle had a just motive, and Socialism at the beginning was in the right. What has happened is that instead of pursuing its original path of seeking after social justice among men. Socialism has turned into a mere doctrine, and one of the chilliest frigidity, and it has no concern, great or small, for the liberation of working men. Karl Marx was a German Jew who sat in his study and watched, with horrible impassivity, the most dramatic happenings of his age. He was a German Jew who, with the British factories in Manchester before his eyes, and in the middle of formulating inexorable laws about the accumulation of capital, in the middle of formulating inexorable laws about production and about the interests of employers and workmen, was all the time writing letters to his friend Friedrich Engels, telling him the workers were a mob and a rabble, which need not be bothered with except in so far as they might serve to test out his doctrines.”” José Antonio Rivera ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marx’s original social‑justice goals were corrupted, turning socialism into a cold doctrine detached from workers’ liberation. **In simple terms:** Original ideals became bureaucratic doctrine. Key Takeaway Re‑examine socialist principles. Themes politics history socialism marxism ideology labor rights Mood critical analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - academic essay - political analysis - historical review Key Concepts theoretical distortion historical critique Questions to Reflect On - How can socialism return to its original aims? - What lessons does Marx’s detachment teach today? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-struggle/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Writing Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-letters/) ## Related quotes > [“1849 - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels present, The Communist Manifesto, declaring “the abolition of private property.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-sussman/1849-karl-marx-and-friedrich-engels-present-the-communist-manifesto/) Brian Sussman > [“The transformation of the community into an administrative state responsible for total social welfare leads to a paternal totality without a house-father when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-transformation-of-the-community-into-an-administrative-state/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Friedrich Engels once said: "Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism." 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