--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idealist's program of political or…" description: "\"The idealist's program of political or economic reform may be impracticable, absurd, demonstrably ridiculous; but it can never be successfully opposed ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a82/charles-horton-cooley-8362_absurd_the-idealist-s-program-of-political-or-e_1212698.png" --- # The idealist's program of political or economic reform may… ![“The idealist's program of political or economic reform may be impracticable, absurd, demonstrably ridiculous; but it can never be successfully opposed merely by pointing out that this is the case. A negative opposition cannot be wholly effectual: there must be a competing idealism; something must…” quote by Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a82/charles-horton-cooley-8362_absurd_the-idealist-s-program-of-political-or-e_1212698.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a82/charles-horton-cooley-8362_absurd_the-idealist-s-program-of-political-or-e_1212698.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a82/charles-horton-cooley-8362_absurd_the-idealist-s-program-of-political-or-e_1212698.png) > “The idealist's program of political or economic reform may be impracticable, absurd, demonstrably ridiculous; but it can never be successfully opposed merely by pointing out that this is the case. A negative opposition cannot be wholly effectual: there must be a competing idealism; something must be offered that is not only less objectionable but more desirable.” [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reforms that seem unrealistic must be met with alternative visions, not just criticism. **In simple terms:** Oppose bad ideas with better ones. Key Takeaway Offer constructive alternatives. Themes politics reform idealism critique alternatives Mood thoughtful determined Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy debates - activist meetings - legislative drafting - public discourse Key Concepts pragmatism idealism social theory Questions to Reflect On - What positive vision can replace a rejected reform? - How can we make idealistic proposals more practical? A Different Perspective Simply dismissing ideas doesn't change outcomes; constructive proposals are needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Competing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing/) [Economic reforms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-reforms/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Idealist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform/) ## Related quotes > [“IF YOU’RE NOT READY FOR NEGATIVE OPPOSITION, YOU’RE READY FOR GREATER CHALLENGES”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/if-you-re-not-ready-for-negative-opposition-you-re-ready-for-greater/) [P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [Hamas played the negative opposition, in a sense, because it formed an alternative source of power without any mandate from the people. Now, Hamas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanan-ashrawi/hamas-played-the-negative-opposition-in-a-sense-because-it-formed-an/) [Hanan Ashrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanan-ashrawi/) > [History has it that every positive motion faced a negative opposition and only the strongest survived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/history-has-it-that-every-positive-motion-faced-a-negative-opposition/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I don't believe that military intervention is always the right approach. 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Leadership means giving broad direction, take up challenges which other people cannot do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajay-piramal/leadership-is-more-than-just-managing-economic-reforms-leadership/) [Ajay Piramal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajay-piramal/) > [I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible. ... because I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/i-am-in-favor-of-cutting-taxes-under-any-circumstances-and-for-any/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [If the US Government was a family—they would be making $58,000 a year, spending $75,000 a year, & are $327,000 in credit card debt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/if-the-us-government-was-a-family-they-would-be-making-58-000-a-year/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Slovakia's joining the OECD in 1999 is totally dependent on meeting economic reforms required such as transparency and legislation that permits fair and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mica/slovakia-s-joining-the-oecd-in-1999-is-totally-dependent-on-meeting/) [John Mica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mica/) > [The prudential regulation that I have put in place has been absolutely critical. The fiscal policy which we have put in place has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-costello/the-prudential-regulation-that-i-have-put-in-place-has-been/) [Peter Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-costello/) ## More by Charles Horton Cooley > [So far as discipline is concerned, freedom means not its absence but the use of higher and more rational forms as contrasted with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/so-far-as-discipline-is-concerned-freedom-means-not-its-absence-but/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [To retire to the monastery, or the woods, or the sea, is to escape from the sharp suggestions that spur on ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-retire-to-the-monastery-or-the-woods-or-the-sea-is-to-escape-from/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [Each man must have his I; it is more necessary to him than bread; and if he does not find scope for it within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/each-man-must-have-his-i-it-is-more-necessary-to-him-than-bread-and/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [I is a militant social tendency, working to hold and enlarge its place in the general current of tendencies. 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The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/one-should-never-criticize-his-own-work-except-in-a-fresh-and-hopeful/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [It happens from time to time in every complex and active society, that certain persons feel the complexity and insistence as a tangle, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/it-happens-from-time-to-time-in-every-complex-and-active-society-that/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [Since freedom is not a fixed thing that can be grasped and held once for all, but a growth, any particular society, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/since-freedom-is-not-a-fixed-thing-that-can-be-grasped-and-held-once/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [If we divine a discrepancy between a man's words and his character, the whole impression of him becomes broken and painful; he revolts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/if-we-divine-a-discrepancy-between-a-man-s-words-and-his-character/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-get-away-from-one-s-working-environment-is-in-a-sense-to-get-away/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [In the days of witchcraft it used to be believed that if one person secretly made a waxen image of another and stuck pins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/in-the-days-of-witchcraft-it-used-to-be-believed-that-if-one-person/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [To persuade is more trouble than to dominate, and the powerful seldom take this trouble if they can avoid it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-persuade-is-more-trouble-than-to-dominate-and-the-powerful-seldom/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [The social self is simply any idea, or system of ideas, drawn from the communicative life, that the mind cherishes as its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/the-social-self-is-simply-any-idea-or-system-of-ideas-drawn-from-the/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [Form the habit of making decisions when your spirit is fresh...to let dark moods lead is like choosing cowards to command armies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/form-the-habit-of-making-decisions-when-your-spirit-is-fresh-to-let/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [The idea of freedom is quite in accord with a general, though vague, sentiment among us; it is an idea of fair play, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/the-idea-of-freedom-is-quite-in-accord-with-a-general-though-vague/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) [Explore all 81 Charles Horton Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. 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But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idealist's program of political or economic reform may be impracticable, absurd, demonstrably ridiculous; but it can never be successfully opposed merely by pointing out that this is the case. 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