--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Social movements rarely succeed if they…" description: "\"Social movements rarely succeed if they violate our gut sense of decency and moral proportion.\" — Bret Stephens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/bret-stephens-3977_decency_social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they_3168423.jpg" --- # Social movements rarely succeed if they violate our gut… ![“Social movements rarely succeed if they violate our gut sense of decency and moral proportion.” quote by Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/bret-stephens-3977_decency_social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they_3168423.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/bret-stephens-3977_decency_social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they_3168423.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/bret-stephens-3977_decency_social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they_3168423.jpg) > “Social movements rarely succeed if they violate our gut sense of decency and moral proportion.” [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Movements that clash with innate moral sense lose public support. **In simple terms:** Violating basic morals hurts movements. Key Takeaway Align actions with widely held ethics. Themes ethics social movements public opinion morality culture Mood critical analytical Type political commentary When to use this quote - protesting - policy advocacy - campaign messaging - grassroots organizing Key Concepts moral psychology social cohesion political strategy Questions to Reflect On - Do you trust your gut on moral issues? - How can movements reconcile moral differences? A Different Perspective Complex issues may lack a clear moral consensus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) [Decency Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency-moral-1592762/) [Gut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gut/) [Moral Proportion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-proportion-5757193/) [Rarely Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rarely-succeed-2720690/) [Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense/) [Sense Decency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-decency-270261/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social movements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-movements/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) ## Related quotes > [“We want character but without unyielding conviction; we want strong morality, but without the emotional burden of guilt or shame; we want virtue but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-davison-hunter/we-want-character-but-without-unyielding-conviction-we-want-strong/) [James Davison Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-davison-hunter/) > [There is a minimum requirement of morality, of moral compass, of decency, of moral empathy. And if you are incapable of meeting that minimum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-navarro/there-is-a-minimum-requirement-of-morality-of-moral-compass-of/) [Ana Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-navarro/) > [“You think you're superior to the others, don't you? We'll you're not. In fact you're worse for mistaking basic human decency for moral superiority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/you-think-you-re-superior-to-the-others-don-t-you-we-ll-you-re-not-in/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [Projects of personal transformation rarely succeed by accident, drift, or imposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/projects-of-personal-transformation-rarely-succeed-by-accident-drift/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/people-rarely-succeed-unless-they-have-fun-in-what-they-are-doing/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Presidents have to be very organized to govern successfully, and solo artists rarely succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-holtz-eakin/presidents-have-to-be-very-organized-to-govern-successfully-and-solo/) [Douglas Holtz-Eakin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-holtz-eakin/) > [Projects of personal transformation rarely if ever succeed by accident, drift or imposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/projects-of-personal-transformation-rarely-if-ever-succeed-by/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Affairs that depend on many rarely succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-guicciardini/affairs-that-depend-on-many-rarely-succeed/) [Francesco Guicciardini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-guicciardini/) > [Senator; you've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-n-welch/senator-you-ve-done-enough-have-you-no-sense-of-decency-sir-at-long/) [Joseph N. Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-n-welch/) > [“Tristan flexed his jaw. “How is it that you seem to have no sense of decency when it comes to your personal life, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-fine/tristan-flexed-his-jaw-how-is-it-that-you-seem-to-have-no-sense-of/) [Chelsea Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-fine/) > [Im single so my only sense of decency has any say about where you leave your dirty clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-single-so-my-only-sense-of-decency-has-any-say-about-where-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Television has to reflect back to you your own sense of security. It also has to mirror your sense of your own decency and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-siegel/television-has-to-reflect-back-to-you-your-own-sense-of-security-it/) [Lee Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-siegel/) > [There is a sense of decency that's like a barometer to a man's or a country's health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/there-is-a-sense-of-decency-that-s-like-a-barometer-to-a-man-s-or-a/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Do you have no sense of decency?" He pauses, seems to think about this, then turns and walks out the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-crane/do-you-have-no-sense-of-decency-he-pauses-seems-to-think-about-this/) [Carolyn Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-crane/) > [“And what if I think you're doing this out of misguided sense of decency?" "Oh, any sense of decency I possess is most definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stuart/and-what-if-i-think-you-re-doing-this-out-of-misguided-sense-of/) [Anne Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stuart/) ## More by Bret Stephens > [The hater always suffers more than the object of his hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-hater-always-suffers-more-than-the-object-of-his-hatred/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Listen carefully to the global warming alarmists, and the main theme that emerges is that what the developed world needs is a large dose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/listen-carefully-to-the-global-warming-alarmists-and-the-main-theme/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > ['Democratic socialism' is awful as a slogan and catastrophic as a policy. And 'social democracy' - a term that better fits the belief of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/democratic-socialism-is-awful-as-a-slogan-and-catastrophic-as-a/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When you work at 'The Wall Street Journal,' the coins of the realm are truth and trust - the latter flowing exclusively from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-you-work-at-the-wall-street-journal-the-coins-of-the-realm-are/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [No adviser to a president is going to get his way all of the time, but at a minimum, that adviser should be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/no-adviser-to-a-president-is-going-to-get-his-way-all-of-the-time-but/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Every president inherits a mixed bag when he comes to office, and Obama's was hardly the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/every-president-inherits-a-mixed-bag-when-he-comes-to-office-and/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [There was a time when the conservative movement was led by the likes of Bill Buckley and Irving Kristol and Bob Bartley, men of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/there-was-a-time-when-the-conservative-movement-was-led-by-the-likes/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [We elected Donald J. Trump to keep us jittery and entertained. He's delivered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/we-elected-donald-j-trump-to-keep-us-jittery-and-entertained-he-s/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The United States survives so long as at least one of its major parties is politically and intellectually healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-united-states-survives-so-long-as-at-least-one-of-its-major/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Censoriously asserting one's moral superiority and treating skeptics as imbeciles and deplorables wins few converts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/censoriously-asserting-one-s-moral-superiority-and-treating-skeptics/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee, Republicans cannot win. Maybe they can't win with Rubio or Cruz or Kasich.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/what-is-absolutely-clear-is-that-if-trump-is-the-nominee-republicans/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Everything Republicans once claimed to advocate - entitlement reform, free trade, standing up to dictators, encouraging the march of freedom around the world -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/everything-republicans-once-claimed-to-advocate-entitlement-reform/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The best scientific evidence suggests temperatures are rising, and the best scientific evidence suggests man-made anthropogenic carbon emissions have some substantial thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-best-scientific-evidence-suggests-temperatures-are-rising-and-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The intelligent defense of free speech should not rest on the notion that we must tolerate every form of speech, no matter how offensive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-intelligent-defense-of-free-speech-should-not-rest-on-the-notion/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When George W. Bush decided to save the American position in Iraq by going against the advice of all of his wise men, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-george-w-bush-decided-to-save-the-american-position-in-iraq-by/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) [Explore all 118 Bret Stephens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## More Decency quotes > [Come on, that was no foul! It may be a violation of all the basic rules of human decency, but its not a foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/come-on-that-was-no-foul-it-may-be-a-violation-of-all-the-basic-rules/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [Listen, young people, I understand narcissism - clearly. But at least I have the decency to hate myself. And that's what's missing from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/listen-young-people-i-understand-narcissism-clearly-but-at-least-i/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Faye, if you got eaten by another shark, would you please at least have the decency to say so? My time is kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/faye-if-you-got-eaten-by-another-shark-would-you-please-at-least-have/) [Elle Lothlorien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-lothlorien/) > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathesome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-gather-a-repulsive-nobody-writing-in-a-paper-no-one-of-any-decency/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships . . . which are basically a reflection of your sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/the-quality-of-your-life-ultimately-depends-on-the-quality-of-your/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“No woman deserves to be treated as little more than your toy. If you feel she is nothing more than a cheap hooker, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/no-woman-deserves-to-be-treated-as-little-more-than-your-toy-if-you/) [Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/) > [“Almost everything you think is sacred, good and decent, is a lie and an all-out assault against truth and decency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/almost-everything-you-think-is-sacred-good-and-decent-is-a-lie-and-an/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I am not a member of the chamber of commerce for show business, believe me, but there are some really good people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-fuller/i-am-not-a-member-of-the-chamber-of-commerce-for-show-business/) [Kurt Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-fuller/) > [Out of all the fighters that I have developed, clothed, financed, Gerrie Coetzee is the only one who had the decency to say 'thanks'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-king/out-of-all-the-fighters-that-i-have-developed-clothed-financed-gerrie/) [Don King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-king/) > [If I see that something is wrong, I don't care who says it. Whether it's a Republican or Democrat, the left or the right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-aragones/if-i-see-that-something-is-wrong-i-don-t-care-who-says-it-whether-it/) [Sergio Aragones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-aragones/) > [I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-higgins/i-love-our-shared-island-our-shared-ireland-and-its-core-decency-i/) [Michael D. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-higgins/) [Browse all 559 Decency quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Social movements rarely succeed if they violate our gut sense of decency and moral proportion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bret Stephens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they-violate-our-gut-sense-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decency" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they-violate-our-gut-sense-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/bret-stephens-3977_decency_social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they_3168423.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/bret-stephens-3977_decency_social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they_3168423.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/bret-stephens-3977_decency_social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they_3168423.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Social movements rarely succeed if they violate our gut sense of decency and moral proportion.” — Bret Stephens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bret Stephens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Social movements rarely succeed if they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they-violate-our-gut-sense-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/social-movements-rarely-succeed-if-they-violate-our-gut-sense-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```