Refers to a John Steinbeck quote, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."
> is actually in a description of the socialist movement itself,
While, overall, Steinbeck said something different, your description of the intent is incorrect. "I guess the trouble was that we didn’t have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist." - This can only make sense when attributed to capitalists (believers in it) regardless of what systems they are currently participating in. This is a subtle description of human nature at large, which is why it's so memorable.
No, this is wrong. The context for “we” is “most of the so-called Communists I met.” He is describing the people in the movement as temporarily embarrassed capitalists. It is the opposite of the apocryphal quote, which has Steinbeck positing that the reason the movement is unsuccessful as it being opposed by the temporarily embarrassed millionaires who should have embraced it.
> Steinbeck positing that the reason the movement is unsuccessful as it being opposed by the temporarily embarrassed millionaires
> This can only make sense when attributed to capitalists (believers in it) regardless of what systems they are currently participating in <--- ie Communist support or however you want to constrain it
The same phrasing you repeated, reiterates my point.
Good luck with whatever.