The British proletariat bought its gains at the cost of accommodating capital

Evidence

The proletariat of yesterday, classically conceived or otherwise, now has rather more to lose than its chains. The real gains which it has made have been achieved at the cost of a deepseated accommodation with capital and the political institutions of corporatism. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 2203

Categorization

• APHORISMS: A direct inversion of the Communist Manifesto’s ‘nothing to lose but their chains’ - the proletariat now has something to lose, and that loss is the price of its accommodation.
• CANDY: The rhetorical twist on Marx’s famous line is a memorable, punchy contrast that lands easily in conversation.