there was no dissent, no strike, no protest, no hesitation to shoulder a rifle against fellow workers of another land. When the call came, the worker, whom Marx declared to have no Fatherland identified himself with country, not class. He turned out to be a member of the national family like anyone else. The force of his antagonism which was supposed to topple capitalism found a better target in the foreigner. The working class went to war willingly, even eagerly, like the middle class, like the upper class, like the species.
The passage illustrates how, when war was declared, workers did not hesitate to take up arms against their fellow laborers from other nations. Despite Karl Marx's assertion that workers shared no allegiance to their homeland, they instead identified with their nation. This reflects a shift in loyalty from class solidarity to national identity. Workers, rather than opposing capitalism, directed their animosity towards foreigners, aligning themselves with their countrymen in the face of conflict.
Tuchman emphasizes that workers participated in the war with the same fervor as those from the upper and middle classes. This collective willingness to fight, despite being part of a supposedly oppressed class, highlights a paradox within the worker's identity. They became contributors to the national effort, suggesting that socioeconomic divisions could be transcended in favor of patriotic duty. The enthusiasm to join the war effort underscores the complexities of class loyalty versus national loyalty during this tumultuous period.
