Emma Goldman Quotes

Only force would produce social change.

America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.

Change will always be violent.

Nothing counts but pressure, pressure, more pressure, and still more pressure through broad organized aggressive mass action.

If you compromise in any kind of movement or any kind of wave of revolution, if you sort of play the game, things are gonna change far more slowly than you need them to.

For me, 'revolution' simply means radical change.

Real change is always violent, but it may hurt a lot less than what's in place before the violence occurs.

Bloody revolutions are solid; bloodless ones are not permanent. But we have shed sufficient blood to come to this revolution. It has been shed not only on battlefields, but within the country…There have been many risings, all of which have been suppressed. Let us hope that there will be no more bloodshed. The first duty of our educated people is to enlighten and guide the opponents of our happy revolution.

The people in power will not disappear voluntarily, giving flowers to the cops just isn't going to work. This thinking is fostered by the establishment; they like nothing better than love and nonviolence.

The power of a movement lies in the fact that it can indeed change the habits of people. This change is not the result of force but of dedication, of moral persuasion.

When you look at the times in history when change was brought about, there were two factors: crisis and leadership.

History pays more attention to reformers than others. We pay more attention to dissenters too.

I am for the restoration of order, not for the restoration of the old order.

If reforms do not come when people are at peace, of course, they have to come through violent upheavals, so as I looked out I thought: "Thank God, that this nation has had the courage to face the need of changes before we reached the point where bloodshed was the only way to achieve a change.

Violence is a holy and historically progressive force.

Change comes when people are willing to commit acts of peaceful civil disobedience.

You can't change the world through the parliamentary system.

I despise all those who fight for peace. It's only the bad guys and the troublemakers who create entertaining and history-changing events.

Yes, the brutalities of progress are called revolutions

I hate every violent overthrow, because as much is destroyed as is gained by it.

Rioting is not revolutionary.

A revolution is bloody. Revolution is hostile. Revolution knows no compromise. Revolution overturns and destroys everything that gets in its way.

I'm not for real revolutions, because they always bring you the opposite of what you want. You very seldom get what you want if you have a violent revolution.

There never was a good war or a bad revolution.

Activism could be defined as activities engaged in by individuals to change there of others situation.