--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Moral revolutions are typically seen…" description: "\"Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively. Prospectively, the revolutionaries tend to look like crazy people, and sometimes they are.\" — Dal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe0/dale-jamieson-4075_crazy_moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-ret_162789.jpg" --- # Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively… ![“Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively. Prospectively, the revolutionaries tend to look like crazy people, and sometimes they are.” quote by Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe0/dale-jamieson-4075_crazy_moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-ret_162789.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe0/dale-jamieson-4075_crazy_moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-ret_162789.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe0/dale-jamieson-4075_crazy_moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-ret_162789.jpg) > “Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively. Prospectively, the revolutionaries tend to look like crazy people, and sometimes they are.” [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral revolutions are only recognized after they happen; at the time they seem irrational or extreme. **In simple terms:** Moral changes look crazy until history judges them. Key Takeaway Expect resistance when challenging norms. Themes ethics history social change Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - activism - policy reform - cultural shifts - academic debate Key Concepts moral philosophy revolutionary theory Questions to Reflect On - What current ideas might be judged harshly later? - How to balance innovation with caution? A Different Perspective Not all radical ideas succeed; some cause harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crazy people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy-people/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutionaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionaries/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) ## Related quotes > [“I meant the moral to be that revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-meant-the-moral-to-be-that-revolutions-only-effect-a-radical/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [All political revolutions, not affected by foreign conquest, originate in moral revolutions. The subversion of established institutions is merely one consequence of the previous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-political-revolutions-not-affected-by-foreign-conquest-originate/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [In Europe and America alike, voters increasingly recognize that the benefits of the green revolution aren't worth the costs, particularly when the revolutionaries don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/in-europe-and-america-alike-voters-increasingly-recognize-that-the/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [ \[In\] every revolution, there is a great divergence between what the revolutionaries expect and what the revolution actually accomplishes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akbar-ganji/in-every-revolution-there-is-a-great-divergence-between-what-the/) [Akbar Ganji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akbar-ganji/) > [“So many revolutionaries are intellectuals, a class of people whose aspirations tend to run ahead of their capabilities. Just”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/so-many-revolutionaries-are-intellectuals-a-class-of-people-whose/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“There are basically two kinds of revolutionaries living in the world today. One looks at a crowd of people and asks how each might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tracy/there-are-basically-two-kinds-of-revolutionaries-living-in-the-world/) James Tracy > [“We’re a nonviolent collective working to undermine the Trust and free the Badlands. Once the Trust is exposed as lying and corrupt, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-clark/we-re-a-nonviolent-collective-working-to-undermine-the-trust-and-free/) [Georgia Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-clark/) > [“We must never forget that we are cosmic revolutionaries, not stooges conscripted to advance a natural order that kills everybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-harrington/we-must-never-forget-that-we-are-cosmic-revolutionaries-not-stooges/) Alan Harrington > [“Revolutionaries can't afford to worry about tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-palmer/revolutionaries-can-t-afford-to-worry-about-tomorrow/) [Diana Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-palmer/) > [I think it's really important to create spiritual revolutionaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-bender-birch/i-think-it-s-really-important-to-create-spiritual-revolutionaries/) [Beryl Bender Birch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-bender-birch/) > [We were the most conservative revolutionaries in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-higgins/we-were-the-most-conservative-revolutionaries-in-history/) Kevin O'Higgins > [There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-de-goncourt/there-are-only-two-great-currents-in-the-history-of-mankind-the/) [Edmond de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-de-goncourt/) > [Mayors typically don't do the things we're trying to do... Revolutionaries aren't typically Mayor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chokwe-lumumba/mayors-typically-don-t-do-the-things-we-re-trying-to-do/) [Chokwe Lumumba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chokwe-lumumba/) > [“Revolutionists who took part in uprisings in one part of the globe would often migrate to take part in uprisings in another. Francisco de…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/revolutionists-who-took-part-in-uprisings-in-one-part-of-the-globe/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“At first, the Jacobin Club was not the most radical club. It was known for its lively, collegial debates and for attracting diverse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-reiss/at-first-the-jacobin-club-was-not-the-most-radical-club-it-was-known/) [Tom Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-reiss/) ## More by Dale Jamieson > [People with long memories and a vivid sense of the past have an immediate understanding of politicians like Donald Trump. They are not surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/people-with-long-memories-and-a-vivid-sense-of-the-past-have-an/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [On my reading of history people who want to bring us the best are usually the people we ought to be afraid of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/on-my-reading-of-history-people-who-want-to-bring-us-the-best-are/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [We know the "great men" and a handful of heavily cited papers in our specialization. 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