How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
…while there is a lower class, I am in it (2)
As a famous politician and leader, Debs might be overstating things by insisting that he's still "lower class."
Quote #2
I remember all the hardships and privations of that earlier day, and from that time until now my heart has been with the working class. (8)
Debs is firmly asserting here that the boy is father to the man. Since he grew up knowing hardship, he's on the side of the underdogs.
Quote #3
[...] the outgrown social system in which we live [...] ought to be abolished not only in the interest of the toiling masses but in the higher interest of all humanity (14)
By appealing to a higher social good, Debs is trying to be more inclusive and de-emphasize his usual focus on the needs of only the working class.