The original quote was not an exhortation *to* "eat the rich!". The version attributed to Rousseau is: "When the people have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich."

I am confused by the fact that rich people look at the people shouting "eat the rich" and try to shut them up, rather than *give them literally anything else to eat*. In the quote as in real life, "the rich" are the *last* option. Everybody *wants* to eat something else.