Money Quote by Paul Preston

“Everywhere, rulers and elites sprang up, living off the peasants’ surplus food and leaving them with only a bare subsistence.”

— Yuval Noah Harari

“The history books say that life before the Revolution was completely different from what it is now. There was the most terrible oppression, injustice,…

— George Orwell

“The peasants who had more land or livestock than others were the first to lose what they had. A”

— Timothy Snyder

As farmers or owners, the poor peasants possess a piece of land. The excellent means of transport enables them often to sell their goods.…

— Herman Gorter

“At the time there was a strong feeling in the streets that the authorities were to blame for their incapacity to dispose of the…

— H.G. Wells

“a small number of wealthy landowners has dominated a large population of landless and small-holding peasants.”

— Bob

“The stress of farming had far-reaching consequences. It was the foundation of large-scale political and social systems. Sadly, the diligent peasants almost never achieved…

— Yuval Noah Harari

“Farmers were given a plot of land in exchange for overthrowing their leaders. Violence was an indispensable feature of land distribution, implicating a majority…

— Frank Dikötter

“Crucially, though, the peasants had few guns, and poor organization.”

— Timothy Snyder

“The most striking fact of the day was the misery of the industrial proletariat. Despite the growth of the economy, or perhaps in part…

— Thomas Piketty

“Indeed, nothing but smuggling kept the poor from starving to death under that Government monopoly, benevolently planned for their good.”

— Rose Wilder Lane

“There was no stopping us now. We had running water, a heater, a cooker and a road. We were fast becoming slaves again to…

— Chris Stewart