men who understood the workers and how to fool them with glittering promises and then climb to power upon their shoulders. - Upton Sinclair

It appeared as if the whole world was one elaborate system, opposed to justice and kindness, and set to making cruelty and pain.

And now in the union Jurgis met men who explained all this mystery to him; and he learned that America differed from Russia in that its government existed under the form of a democracy. The officials who ruled it, and got all the graft, had to be elected first; and so there were two rival sets of grafters, known as political parties, and the one got the office which bought the most votes.

The great corporation which employed you lied to you, and lied to the whole country — from top to bottom it was nothing but one gigantic lie.