"If we can by any method establish a relation of mutual trust between the laborer and the employer, we shall lay the foundation stone of a structure that will endure for all time"
About this Quote
The specific intent is to frame labor peace as a shared project rather than a contest over power. Hanna avoids words like “rights,” “wages,” or “exploitation” because those invite negotiation and conflict. “Any method” is a quiet tell: he’s less concerned with the purity of the means than the reliability of the outcome. The phrase flattens asymmetry. Employer and laborer appear as equal partners in a mutual relationship, even though one controls capital, hiring, and working conditions. Trust here is not merely interpersonal; it’s institutional consent.
Subtext: if workers can be brought to trust employers, they will accept the broader industrial order as legitimate, reducing the need for unions, strikes, or radical politics. “Endure for all time” is classic corporate futurism, a bid to naturalize a historically contingent arrangement. Hanna isn’t just selling peace; he’s selling permanence, and he does it by turning a volatile economic struggle into a civic-sounding ideal.
Quote Details
| Topic | Management |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hanna, Mark. (2026, January 16). If we can by any method establish a relation of mutual trust between the laborer and the employer, we shall lay the foundation stone of a structure that will endure for all time. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-we-can-by-any-method-establish-a-relation-of-95301/
Chicago Style
Hanna, Mark. "If we can by any method establish a relation of mutual trust between the laborer and the employer, we shall lay the foundation stone of a structure that will endure for all time." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-we-can-by-any-method-establish-a-relation-of-95301/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If we can by any method establish a relation of mutual trust between the laborer and the employer, we shall lay the foundation stone of a structure that will endure for all time." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-we-can-by-any-method-establish-a-relation-of-95301/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.






