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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the confusion and contradictions within radical thought in America, suggesting a lack of coherence in ideas.
Emma Goldman’s quote critiques the American radical movement for its tendency to embrace contradictory ideas without a clear direction. She highlights how this chaotic mix leads to a lack of intellectual integrity, resulting in a 'sad chaos' where powerful ideas are diluted and meaning is lost, making the movement less effective and cohesive.
Themes
RadicalismChaosThoughtIntellectIdeas
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about political movements, you could use this quote to illustrate the challenges of maintaining a coherent ideology.
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
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
There is no hope even that woman, with her right to vote, will ever purify politics.
Emma GoldmanRead
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