---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Progress is the injustice each generation…"
description: "\"Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.\" — Emile M. Cioran"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/emile-m-cioran-1211_commit_progress-is-the-injustice-each-generatio_8087.jpg"
---

#  Progress is the injustice each generation commits with…

![“Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.” quote by Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/emile-m-cioran-1211_commit_progress-is-the-injustice-each-generatio_8087.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/emile-m-cioran-1211_commit_progress-is-the-injustice-each-generatio_8087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/emile-m-cioran-1211_commit_progress-is-the-injustice-each-generatio_8087.jpg)

> “Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.”

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Each generation benefits from the achievements of those before it, yet it also neglects or erodes those legacies, creating an ethical debt to the past.

**In simple terms:** Generational neglect of past contributions

Key Takeaway

Progress can be morally costly

Themes

Ethics History Responsibility Legacy Progress

Mood

Reflective Somber Thoughtful

Type

Philosophical Cautionary

When to use this quote

- Policy making
- Education reform
- Corporate strategy
- Family traditions
- Social activism

Key Concepts

Intergenerational justice Cultural continuity

Practical Applications

- Designing heritage preservation programs
- Creating mentorship frameworks

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we honor past contributions while advancing?
- What safeguards prevent loss of valuable heritage?

A Different Perspective

Some argue that progress inherently builds upon past work, so the notion of 'injustice' may overstate moral responsibility.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commit/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Injustice Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice-generation-336588/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Predecessors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predecessors/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Progress Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress-injustice-336586/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Regard Predecessors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-predecessors-336589/)

## Related quotes

> [Of all things I find most unbearable is the injustice of one generation to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/of-all-things-i-find-most-unbearable-is-the-injustice-of-one/)

[Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/)

> [When incentive to acquire and obtain property is gone, people no longer make efforts to acquire any... Those who infringe upon property rights commit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/when-incentive-to-acquire-and-obtain-property-is-gone-people-no/)

[Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/)

> [Nothing more rapidly inclines a person to go into a monastery than reading a book on etiquette. There are so many trivial ways in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/nothing-more-rapidly-inclines-a-person-to-go-into-a-monastery-than/)

[Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/)

> [The scientist has to take 95 per cent of his subject on trust. He has to because he can't possibly do all the experiments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-zeeman/the-scientist-has-to-take-95-per-cent-of-his-subject-on-trust-he-has/)

[Christopher Zeeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-zeeman/)

> [Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-speak-ill-of-your-predecessors-or-successors-you-didn-t-walk-in/)

[Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/)

> [High culture is nothing but a child of that European perversion called history, the obsession we have with going forward, with considering the sequence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/high-culture-is-nothing-but-a-child-of-that-european-perversion/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [The ability to forget the past enables people to free themselves gradually from the pain they once suffered; but it also often makes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/the-ability-to-forget-the-past-enables-people-to-free-themselves/)

[Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/)

> [Business leaders should provide expertise in service of our country. My predecessors at GE have done so, as have leaders of many other great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-immelt/business-leaders-should-provide-expertise-in-service-of-our-country/)

[Jeffrey R. Immelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-immelt/)

> [ I recognize in \[my readers\] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-recognize-in-my-readers-a-specific-form-and-individual-property/)

[Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/)

> [I managed the Dodgers for 20 years. It's hard to believe that there are only four guys in the history of baseball who managed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lasorda/i-managed-the-dodgers-for-20-years-it-s-hard-to-believe-that-there/)

[Tommy Lasorda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lasorda/)

> [In science the successors stand upon the shoulders of their predecessors; where one man of supreme genius has invented a method, a thousand lesser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-science-the-successors-stand-upon-the-shoulders-of-their/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [I am now old enough to make common cause with my predecessors against my successors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-am-now-old-enough-to-make-common-cause-with-my-predecessors-against/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of revolutionary; and it is they alone who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/in-art-all-who-have-done-something-other-than-their-predecessors-have/)

[Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/)

> [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/)

[Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/)

## More by Emile M. Cioran

> [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [To defy heredity is to defy billions of years, to defy the first cell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/to-defy-heredity-is-to-defy-billions-of-years-to-defy-the-first-cell/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [A people represents not so much an aggregate of ideas and theories as of obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/a-people-represents-not-so-much-an-aggregate-of-ideas-and-theories-as/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> ["The Holy Ghost," Luther instructs us, "is not a skeptic." Not everyone can be, and that is really too bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-holy-ghost-luther-instructs-us-is-not-a-skeptic-not-everyone-can/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Every word affords me pain. Yet how sweet it would be if I could hear what the flowers have to say about death!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/every-word-affords-me-pain-yet-how-sweet-it-would-be-if-i-could-hear/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Woes and wonders of Power, that tonic hell, synthesis of poison and panacea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/woes-and-wonders-of-power-that-tonic-hell-synthesis-of-poison-and/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [If each of us were to confess his most secret desire, the one that inspires all his plans, all his actions, he would say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/if-each-of-us-were-to-confess-his-most-secret-desire-the-one-that/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [He who hates himself is not humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/he-who-hates-himself-is-not-humble/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Impossible to spend sleepless nights and accomplish anything: if, in my youth, my parents had not financed my insomnias, I should surely have killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/impossible-to-spend-sleepless-nights-and-accomplish-anything-if-in-my/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [One is and remains a slave as long as one is not cured of hoping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/one-is-and-remains-a-slave-as-long-as-one-is-not-cured-of-hoping/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Let us not be needlessly bitter: certain failures are sometimes fruitful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/let-us-not-be-needlessly-bitter-certain-failures-are-sometimes/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/ambition-is-a-drug-that-makes-its-addicts-potential-madmen/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Humanity adores only those who cause it to perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/humanity-adores-only-those-who-cause-it-to-perish/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [Psychoanalysis is a technique we practice at our cost; psychoanalysis degrades our risks, our dangers, our depths; it strips us of our impurities, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/psychoanalysis-is-a-technique-we-practice-at-our-cost-psychoanalysis/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

> [In order to have the stuff of a tyrant, a certain mental derangement is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/in-order-to-have-the-stuff-of-a-tyrant-a-certain-mental-derangement/)

[Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

[Explore all 272 Emile M. Cioran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/)

## More Commit quotes

> [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [Don't commit to being a columnist unless you're willing to do it right. Report your behind off, so you have something original and useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sloan/don-t-commit-to-being-a-columnist-unless-you-re-willing-to-do-it/)

[Allan Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sloan/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [I like to always wash the slate clean, and reinvigorate my spirit to be connected to the characters that I am doing. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giancarlo-esposito/i-like-to-always-wash-the-slate-clean-and-reinvigorate-my-spirit-to/)

[Giancarlo Esposito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giancarlo-esposito/)

> [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [You get a script and you love it. You find a director that you trust, and it becomes all about how do I commit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-der-beek/you-get-a-script-and-you-love-it-you-find-a-director-that-you-trust/)

[James Van Der Beek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-der-beek/)

> [Ok, look. I'm honest. Girl I can't lie I miss you. You and the music were the only things that I'd commit to](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/ok-look-i-m-honest-girl-i-can-t-lie-i-miss-you-you-and-the-music-were/)

[Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/)

> [One should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/one-should-not-withdraw-from-individuals-and-commit-to-the-community/)

[Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/)

> [A man must commit a crime at least once in his life-time. Only then will his virtue be recognized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girish-karnad/a-man-must-commit-a-crime-at-least-once-in-his-life-time-only-then/)

[Girish Karnad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girish-karnad/)

> [“A man, who does not commit an evil act either, has no opportunity or the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/a-man-who-does-not-commit-an-evil-act-either-has-no-opportunity-or/)

[M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/)

> [One day I may commit to a city and settle down and do the restaurant thing - when I'm ready and however and whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-kish/one-day-i-may-commit-to-a-city-and-settle-down-and-do-the-restaurant/)

[Kristen Kish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-kish/)

> [Love and commit. Not hit and quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhecky/love-and-commit-not-hit-and-quit/)

[Jhecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhecky/)

> [Every seventeen minutes in America, someone commits suicide. Mostly, I have been impressed by how little value our society puts on saving the lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/every-seventeen-minutes-in-america-someone-commits-suicide-mostly-i/)

[Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/)

[Browse all 1,824 Commit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commit/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Emile M. Cioran"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Commit"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/emile-m-cioran-1211_commit_progress-is-the-injustice-each-generatio_8087.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/emile-m-cioran-1211_commit_progress-is-the-injustice-each-generatio_8087.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/emile-m-cioran-1211_commit_progress-is-the-injustice-each-generatio_8087.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.” — Emile M. Cioran",
                "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": "Emile M. Cioran",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Progress is the injustice each generation...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
