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
Every daring attempt to make a great change in existing conditions, every lofty vision of new possibilities for the human race, has been labeled Utopian.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that ambitious efforts to transform society are often dismissed as unrealistic.
Emma Goldman's quote highlights the tendency of society to label radical ideas and ambitious visions for change as 'utopian', implying that they are impractical or overly idealistic. It speaks to the challenges faced by innovators and reformers who seek to improve conditions for humanity, reminding us that every meaningful attempt at progress may encounter skepticism and resistance, yet it is through these daring endeavors that change is possible.
Themes
ChangeUtopiaAmbitionVisionTransformation
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on social reform, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of ambitious visions.
More from Emma Goldman
All quotes βNo 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
Similar quotes
The information revolution has changed people's perception of wealth. We originally said that land was wealth. Then we thought it was industrial production. Now we realize it's intellectual capital. The market is showing us that intellectual capital is far more important that money. This is a major change in the way the world works. the same thing that happened to the farmers during the Industrial Revolution is now happening to people in industry as we move into the information age.
Walter WristonRead
Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.
Henry David ThoreauRead
If you are trying to transform a brutalized society into one where people can live in dignity and hope, you begin with the empowering of the most powerless. You build from the ground up.
Adrienne RichRead
We have the chance to build this new energy economy in ways that reflect our deepest values of inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunity for everyone.
Van JonesRead
Everything has changed, except our way of thinking.
Albert EinsteinRead
If you want to change the future, you must change what you're doing in the present.
Mark TwainRead