The assumption that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking.
Our Being is Becoming, not stasis. Our Science is Utopia, our Reality is Eros, our Desire is Revolution.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the idea of continuous change and evolution in our lives and society, advocating for progress and transformation.
Murray Bookchin's quote captures the essence of constant change within our existence, suggesting that our very nature is to evolve rather than remain stagnant. He associates science with idealistic pursuits, reality with love and connection, and desire with the need for revolutionary change, illustrating a vision of humanity that seeks growth, improvement, and a profound connection to one another and our environments.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational seminar on personal growth, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of embracing change.
More from Murray Bookchin
All quotes βIf we recognise that every ecosystem can also be viewed as a food web, we can think of it as a circular, interlacing nexus of plant animal relationships (rather than a stratified pyramid with man at the apex)β¦ Each species, be it a form of bacteria or deer, is knitted together in a network of interdependence, however indirect the links may be.
Until society can be reclaimed by an undivided humanity that will use its collective wisdom, cultural achievements, technological innovations, scientific knowledge, and innate creativity for its own benefit and for that of the natural world, all ecological problems will have their roots in social problems.
Capitalism can no more be 'persuaded' to limit growth than a human being can be 'persuaded' to stop breathing. Attempts to 'green' capitalism, to make it 'ecological', are doomed by the very nature of the system as a system of endless growth.
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Can the mind see the truth of its own incapacity to know the unknown? Surely if I see very clearly that my mind cannot know the unknown, there is absolute quietness.
The banyan tree does not mean awakening, nor does the hill, nor the saint, nor the European couple. The lotus is a symbol of regeneration.
And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human.
You are the patient one, Mademoiselle,' said Poirot to Miss Debenham. She shrugged her shoulders slightly. 'What else can one do?' You are a philosopher, Mademoiselle.' That implies a detached attitude. I think my attitude is more selfish. I have learned to save myself useless emotion.
Of a truth, men are mystically united: a mystic bond of brotherhood makes all men one.
If we look for human frailty in humans, we will always find it. When we focus on finding the frailties of those who hold priesthood keys, we run risks for ourselves. When we speak or write to others of such frailties, we put them at risk.