Howard Zinn Quotes

I think that rather than saying that Occupy Wall Street has died, we can say that they're in the process of understanding what the long march through alternative institutions might mean.

I honestly do not know if civil disobedience has any effect on the government. I can promise you it has a great effect on the person who chooses to do it.

It's not the sentiments of men which make history but their actions.

Many individuals are doing what they can. But real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics.

Challenging vested interests requires a government's full commitment.

You can't do progressive government from the inside. You have to rally those outsiders and make them a force.

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

You don't change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall.

No fundamental social change occurs merely because government acts. It's because civil society, the conscience of a country, begins to rise up and demand - demand - demand change.

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.

A revolution has taken place within the government but it has not yet penetrated civil society.

Democracy comes alive not when government does anything, because government cannot be depended on to rectify serious injustices. It comes alive when people organize and do something about it.

Most governments and people want reform. It’s the prospect of change that makes reform rare.

I am, in general, favourable to activism and social movements and hostile to graft and corruption.

I believe activism is the true source of change in the world. Pushing to change social structures in communities that you are a part of is critical for making real lasting change.

I am not naive enough to believe that voting is the only way to bring about transformational change, just as I know that protest alone is not the sole solution to the challenges we face.

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

It was clear to us that social movements and activism can only take us so far in our mission.

What we've seen is an attempt by mainstream politics and politicians to co-opt movements that galvanize people in order for them to move closer to their own goals and objectives. We don't think that playing a corrupt game is going to bring change and make black lives matter.

I am mindful that the goal of protest is not more protest, but the goal of protest is change.

We've all got to get together and demand something better out of our government and out of each other. We've got a system that's making us working harder, and isn't giving us satisfaction. We've got to sit down and decide what the hell we really want to be as human beings.

If a government is to do great new things, it will need more support. If a government is to change the world, it will need mass support. This is one of the discoveries of modern government.

The role that theater has placed in enhancing consciousness and moving systems ahead. I think of what South African theater meant for the apartheid movement, for example. I think of what music has meant for so many social movements across time.

I'd like to transform the system in very fundamental ways, but you've got to do that in every way that you can. You can't wait for some magic bullet or some magic politician or some magic anything to have that happen. You got to get out there and use your vote.

Governments grow as God declines, in both Europe and the United States