---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We will hang the capitalists with the…"
description: "\"We will hang the capitalists with the rope that they sell us.\" — Karl Marx"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/karl-marx-399_capitalist_we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-ro_269906.jpg"
---

#  We will hang the capitalists with the rope that they sell…

![“We will hang the capitalists with the rope that they sell us.” quote by Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/karl-marx-399_capitalist_we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-ro_269906.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/karl-marx-399_capitalist_we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-ro_269906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/karl-marx-399_capitalist_we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-ro_269906.jpg)

> “We will hang the capitalists with the rope that they sell us.”

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A critique that the working class will overthrow capitalists using the very tools of capitalism.

**In simple terms:** Workers will use capitalism's own tools against capitalists.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how systems can be turned against themselves.

Themes

class struggle revolution economic critique

Mood

defiant critical

Type

political revolutionary

When to use this quote

- labor movements
- political activism
- economic policy debates
- historical analysis

Key Concepts

Marxism dialectical materialism

Questions to Reflect On

- What tools of capitalism could be repurposed for social change?
- How can peaceful reform achieve similar goals?

A Different Perspective

May overlook nonviolent alternatives and complex power dynamics.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Capitalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalists/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/)

## Related quotes

> [When it comes to hang the capitalists they will compete with each other to sell us the rope at a lower price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/when-it-comes-to-hang-the-capitalists-they-will-compete-with-each/)

[Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/)

> [When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope we use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/when-we-hang-the-capitalists-they-will-sell-us-the-rope-we-use/)

[Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/)

> [The last capitalist we hang shall be the one who sold us the rope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-last-capitalist-we-hang-shall-be-the-one-who-sold-us-the-rope/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [The old freedom sufficiently survives in the mind of the wage earner to give him the illusion that, while accepting insurance and maintenance from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/the-old-freedom-sufficiently-survives-in-the-mind-of-the-wage-earner/)

[Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/)

> [Priests, kings, statesmen, soldiers, bankers and public functionaries of all sorts; policemen, jailers and hangmen; capitalists, usurers, businessmen and property-owners; lawyers, economists and politicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/priests-kings-statesmen-soldiers-bankers-and-public-functionaries-of/)

[Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/)

> [The terror in which English capitalists now stand of organized proletarian resistance gives to the naturally protected craft organizations the power to receive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/the-terror-in-which-english-capitalists-now-stand-of-organized/)

[Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/)

> [Without getting into brothels, there are ethical capitalists the problem is that there aren't enough of them. It is not "just a few bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-bogle/without-getting-into-brothels-there-are-ethical-capitalists-the/)

[John C. Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/)

> [I don't agree with the Black Lives Matter organizers. They are stated as anti-capitalists. And it's much more than just the police to them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/i-don-t-agree-with-the-black-lives-matter-organizers-they-are-stated/)

[Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/)

> [The capitalists owned everything in the world, and everyone else was their slave. They owned all the land, all the houses, all the factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-capitalists-owned-everything-in-the-world-and-everyone-else-was/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [All capitalists should be like Warren Buffett, and he says he should be taxed more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/all-capitalists-should-be-like-warren-buffett-and-he-says-he-should/)

[Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/)

> [The American capitalists are richer and stronger than their counterparts in other lands. They are also younger and more ignorant, and therefore more inclined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-cannon/the-american-capitalists-are-richer-and-stronger-than-their/)

[James P. Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-cannon/)

> [In seventy years, Russia’s Communists had not succeeded in dealing markets such a telling blow as did its deadbeat capitalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-lowenstein/in-seventy-years-russia-s-communists-had-not-succeeded-in-dealing/)

[Roger Lowenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-lowenstein/)

> [We're supposed to live under capitalism, and capitalism is supposed to be competitive so you would expect that capitalists and entrepreneurs would like competition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/we-re-supposed-to-live-under-capitalism-and-capitalism-is-supposed-to/)

[David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/)

> [The more successful capitalists are in cutting their wage costs, the less money workers will have to buy back what those same capitalists produce.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-d-wolff/the-more-successful-capitalists-are-in-cutting-their-wage-costs-the/)

[Richard D. Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-d-wolff/)

> [Capitalists have done more good for society through their charitable giving, philanthropy and generosity than all their critics combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/capitalists-have-done-more-good-for-society-through-their-charitable/)

[James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/)

## More by Karl Marx

> [“Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/economists-have-a-singular-method-of-procedure-there-are-only-two/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Money degrades all the gods of man and converts them into commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/money-degrades-all-the-gods-of-man-and-converts-them-into-commodities/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [As a beast of toil an ox is fixed capital. If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-a-beast-of-toil-an-ox-is-fixed-capital-if-he-is-eaten-he-no-longer/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-is-not-the-consciousness-of-men-that-determines-their-being-but-on/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Philosophy is to the real world as masturbation is to sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/philosophy-is-to-the-real-world-as-masturbation-is-to-sex/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [“Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/go-on-get-out-last-words-are-for-fools-who-haven-t-said-enough/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [“If you love without evoking love in return - if through the vital expression of yourself as a loving person you fail to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-you-love-without-evoking-love-in-return-if-through-the-vital/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Do not be deluded by the abstract word Freedom. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/do-not-be-deluded-by-the-abstract-word-freedom-whose-freedom-not-the/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [The burgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all nations into civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-burgeoisie-by-the-rapid-improvement-of-all-instruments-of/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Ideas do not exist separately from language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/ideas-do-not-exist-separately-from-language/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [So in Jewry we recognise a contemporary universal anti-social phenomenon, which has reached its present pitch through a process of, historical development in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/so-in-jewry-we-recognise-a-contemporary-universal-anti-social/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [The class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-class-struggle-necessarily-leads-to-the-dictatorship-of-the/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [If this labourer were in possession of his own means of production, and was satisfied to live as a labourer, he need not work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-this-labourer-were-in-possession-of-his-own-means-of-production/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

[Explore all 571 Karl Marx quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

## More Capitalist quotes

> [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/)

William Henry Pickering

> [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Capitalists have done more good for society through their charitable giving, philanthropy and generosity than all their critics combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/capitalists-have-done-more-good-for-society-through-their-charitable/)

[James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/)

> [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/)

[Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/)

> [When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a day and I was always tired. Now I work for myself twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitalist-twelve-hours-a-day-and-i/)

[Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/)

> [“Capitalist cycle of profit. The rancher sells a cow for profit. The butcher sells cuts for profit. The restaurant sells meals for profit. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/capitalist-cycle-of-profit-the-rancher-sells-a-cow-for-profit-the/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [For me, it is clear that we are currently in a period of structural crisis of capitalism going back to the 1970s, but deepening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bellamy-foster/for-me-it-is-clear-that-we-are-currently-in-a-period-of-structural/)

[John Bellamy Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bellamy-foster/)

> [As someone from the working class I was always interested in Russia and China and everything that related to the working class, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/as-someone-from-the-working-class-i-was-always-interested-in-russia/)

[John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/)

> [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/)

[Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/)

> [Capitalism has created a situation called scarcity. And that scarcity is not natural, it's socially induced. Along with that sense of scarcity, or feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-has-created-a-situation-called-scarcity-and-that-scarcity/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [... what we should be looking for is fresh ideas of how we make moral decisions about our dealings with one another, economic, social,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-mccaughey/what-we-should-be-looking-for-is-fresh-ideas-of-how-we-make-moral/)

Davis McCaughey

> [When you come from a family of communists and you go through your teenage rebellion, what's the best way of rebelling from a family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/when-you-come-from-a-family-of-communists-and-you-go-through-your/)

[Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/)

> [The Enron scandal calls into question the integrity of the entire capitalist system, which previously we assumed was based on honest, straightforward greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-achenbach/the-enron-scandal-calls-into-question-the-integrity-of-the-entire/)

[Joel Achenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-achenbach/)

> [Human beings were behaving as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/human-beings-were-behaving-as-human-beings-and-not-as-cogs-in-the/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Beautiful women must think about their beauty as capitalists think about their investments or politicians about their majorities; it is all they have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/beautiful-women-must-think-about-their-beauty-as-capitalists-think/)

[Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/)

Browse all 968 Capitalist quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We will hang the capitalists with the rope that they sell us.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Karl Marx"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-rope-that-they-sell-us/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Capitalist"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-rope-that-they-sell-us/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/karl-marx-399_capitalist_we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-ro_269906.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/karl-marx-399_capitalist_we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-ro_269906.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/karl-marx-399_capitalist_we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-ro_269906.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We will hang the capitalists with the rope that they sell us.” — Karl Marx",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Karl Marx",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We will hang the capitalists with...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-rope-that-they-sell-us/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/we-will-hang-the-capitalists-with-the-rope-that-they-sell-us/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
