On rare occasions one does hear of a miraculous case of a married couple falling in love after marriage, but on close examination it will be found that it is a mere adjustment to the inevitable.
Emma GoldmanRead
Direct action against the authority in the shop, direct action against the authority of the law, direct action against the invasive, meddlesome authority of our moral code, is the logical, consistent method of Anarchism. Will it not lead to a revolution? Indeed, it will. No real social change has ever come without a revolution. People are either not familiar with their history, or they have not yet learned that revolution is but thought carried into action.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that effective change often requires direct action against established authorities and urges the necessity of revolution for true social change.
Emma Goldman's quote argues that to achieve meaningful social change, one must confront and challenge the existing authorities of society, including legal systems and moral codes. She asserts that revolutionary action is not only a method of Anarchism but an essential step in realizing social transformations, suggesting that history shows us that significant progress has always involved upheaval and direct engagement with the powers that be. Rather than being passive or accepting of the status quo, she believes individuals must actively participate in shaping their world through revolutionary thought and action.
Themes
AnarchismRevolutionSocial ChangeAuthorityDirect Action
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a social justice rally to inspire participants to take action against oppressive systems.
More from Emma Goldman
All quotes →No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.
Emma GoldmanRead
To the indefinite, uncertain mind of the American radical the most contradictory ideas and methods are possible. The result is a sad chaos in the radical movement, a sort of intellectual hash, which has neither taste nor character.
Emma GoldmanRead
John Burroughs has stated that experimental study of animals in captivity is absolutely useless. Their character, their habits, their appetites undergo a complete transformation when torn from their soil in field and forest. With human nature caged in a narrow space, whipped daily into submission, how can we speak of its potentialities?
Emma GoldmanRead
Anarchism is the only philosophy which brings to man the consciousness of himself; which maintains that God, the State, and society are non-existent, that their promises are null and void, since they can be fulfilled only through man's subordination.
Emma GoldmanRead
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.
Emma GoldmanRead
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