A Truth Society Still Refuses to Admit

Mark Twain’s words may have been spoken more than a hundred years ago, but they feel like they were written yesterday. Even today, we live in a world where injustice has two names. When the rich take advantage of the poor, it is dressed up with fancy words — “business,” “development,” “profit.” But when the poor resist, when they demand what is rightfully theirs, it suddenly becomes “violence,” “crime,” or “unrest.”

This double standard has followed society for centuries. It has been repeated in every country, in every era, and in every system. And the saddest part? Most of us have accepted it as normal.

Exploitation Dressed as Business

Let’s begin with the first part of Twain’s quote: “When the rich rob the poor, it’s called business.”

What does “rob” mean here? It doesn’t always mean a thief breaking into someone’s home. It can also mean exploitation, unfair wages, manipulation of resources, or taking advantage of people who have no choice but to agree.

Think of a worker in a factory. He spends twelve hours a day lifting heavy loads, working in unsafe conditions, yet he barely earns enough to feed his family. The owner of the factory, on the other hand, sits in an air-conditioned office and becomes richer every year. The worker’s sweat fuels the owner’s success. Is this fair? No. But society calls it “business.”

Or take farmers. They grow crops that feed entire nations, but middlemen and corporations buy their produce at dirt-cheap prices. Later, those same crops are sold in supermarkets at ten times the cost. The farmer remains poor, while the company calls it “profit.”

Even in daily life, we see it. Large corporations increase the price of basic goods fuel, medicine, and education, and people are forced to pay because they have no alternative. The rich call it “the market. "The poor call it survival."

Why the Poor Fighting Back Looks Like Violence

Now, the second half of Twain’s quote: “When the poor fight back, it’s called violence.”

When people are pushed to the edge — when their voices are silenced, their labor undervalued, their dignity crushed — they eventually resist. Sometimes they protest peacefully, asking for fair wages, affordable living, or basic rights. But even peaceful protests are often painted as “dangerous,” “violent,” or “anti-national.”

If workers strike, it is called a disruption. If farmers march, it is called a nuisance. If students demand education that doesn’t drain their families into debt, they are called troublemakers. And if communities rise against unfair laws or exploitation, they are branded as “violent mobs.”

It is not that the poor enjoy fighting. Most of them only want a decent life. But when their pain is ignored for too long, anger becomes their only language. And society, which ignored their suffering for years, suddenly wakes up to label their resistance as “violence.”

History Repeats This Double Standard

This double standard is not new. History is full of examples.

During the freedom struggles across the world, colonial powers looted wealth from poor nations. That was called “trade.” But when those nations fought for independence, it was called “rebellion” or “violence.”

In the civil rights movement, when oppressed communities demanded equality, their protests were labeled “riots.” Yet the centuries of exploitation before that were politely ignored.

Even today, in many parts of the world, when people demand land rights, water, or fair wages, they are silenced with the excuse of “maintaining law and order.”

The truth is clear: history always makes the powerful look respectable and the powerless look criminal.

The Psychology Behind It

Why does society do this? Why do we excuse the rich and punish the poor?

Part of it is control. The rich control media, politics, and lawmaking. They shape the narrative. A corporation can increase prices and justify it as “inflation.” But if the poor steal bread to survive, they are called “criminals.”

Another reason is fear. If the poor start fighting back, the rich fear losing their power. Labeling protests as “violent” is a way of delegitimizing them, making people believe the poor are dangerous instead of oppressed.

And finally, it’s convenience. Many people find it easier to blame the victims than to challenge the system. Saying “the poor are lazy” is simpler than admitting the system is unfair.

The Hidden Violence of Poverty

The irony is that poverty itself is a kind of violence. A child who goes to bed hungry experiences violence every night. A family forced into debt because of medical bills suffers violence from a system that values profit over health. A farmer who takes his own life because he cannot repay loans is a victim of violence far greater than any protest.

Yet this daily violence — silent, invisible — rarely makes headlines. We have normalized it so much that it doesn’t shock us anymore. Only when the poor resist do we suddenly talk about “violence.”

What Fighting Back Really Means

Fighting back does not always mean physical violence. Sometimes it means speaking up. Sometimes it means organizing unions, forming movements, raising voices online, or simply refusing to accept exploitation.

The truth is, every right we enjoy today — whether it’s the eight-hour workday, the weekend, the right to vote, or basic education — exists because the poor fought back at some point in history. And yes, they were called “violent” back then, too. But without their resistance, the world would be even harsher today.

Looking at Our Own Society

If we look around us right now, we see the same patterns. Rising prices of food and fuel while wages stay low. Farmers, workers, and students are struggling while corporations make record profits. Protests are being silenced or painted as dangerous.

The rich continue to rob the poor in broad daylight, with laws and contracts to protect them. And when the poor try to defend themselves, they are treated as criminals.

This is not just about economics. It is about dignity. Everyone deserves the right to live without constant fear of hunger, debt, or exploitation. Yet we still live in a world where survival is treated as a privilege, not a right.

Conclusion: Changing the Narrative

Mark Twain’s words sting because they are still true. The world continues to excuse the exploitation of the poor while condemning their resistance. But change begins with naming the truth. We must stop romanticizing the rich for their “business” when it is built on the suffering of others. We must stop criminalizing the poor for demanding justice.

Because the real violence is not the protest. The real violence is poverty, inequality, and exploitation.

If we want a fairer world, we need to change the narrative. Fighting back is not violence. It is survival. And survival should never be a crime.

.    .    .