Shoplifters of the World Unite

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"Shoplifters of the World Unite" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in 1987, reaching #12 in the UK Singles Chart. As was often the case with Smiths singles, it did not appear on an original studio album. It can be found on the Louder Than Bombs, Singles and The World Won't Listen compilations.

It has been suggested that the song is about homosexuality, and further that it is a critique of Section 28^{[#endnote_s28]}. This is perhaps owing to the similarity between the word "shoplifter" and the word "shirtlifter", a slang term for a homosexual man in the United Kingdom. The song title is also a play on the phrase "Workers of the World, Unite!" which closes the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels. Furthermore, this phrase was used in the book We the Living by Ayn Rand, an author known to be appreciated by Morrissey.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Morrisey has said that this is his favorite Smiths song.

References

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