--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No revolution can ever succeed as a…" description: "\"No revolution can ever succeed as a factor of liberation unless the MEANS used to further it be identical in spirit and tendency with the PURPOSES to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/emma-goldman-774_brutality_no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-fact_2525546.png" --- # No revolution can ever succeed as a factor of liberation… ![“No revolution can ever succeed as a factor of liberation unless the MEANS used to further it be identical in spirit and tendency with the PURPOSES to be achieved. Revolution is the negation of the existing, a violent protest against man's inhumanity to man with all the thousand and one slaveries…” quote by Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/emma-goldman-774_brutality_no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-fact_2525546.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/emma-goldman-774_brutality_no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-fact_2525546.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/emma-goldman-774_brutality_no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-fact_2525546.png) > “No revolution can ever succeed as a factor of liberation unless the MEANS used to further it be identical in spirit and tendency with the PURPOSES to be achieved. Revolution is the negation of the existing, a violent protest against man's inhumanity to man with all the thousand and one slaveries it involves. It is the destroyer of dominant values upon which a complex system of injustice, oppression, and wrong has been built up by ignorance and brutality. It is the herald of NEW VALUES, ushering in a transformation of the basic relations of man to man, and of man to society.” [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Revolution must align its methods with its goals; means and ends must share the same spirit. **In simple terms:** Means and ends must match in revolution. Key Takeaway Ensure tactics reflect the desired future values. Themes revolution ethics politics justice Mood critical inspirational cautionary Type political philosophical strategic When to use this quote - activist planning - policy reform - community organizing - education campaigns Key Concepts means-ends consistency social change integrity Questions to Reflect On - Can a movement stay true to its ideals under pressure? - What compromises are acceptable to achieve change? A Different Perspective Ideal alignment is hard; compromises may arise in practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brutality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutality/) [Complex systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-systems/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Destroyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyers/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Inhumanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhumanity/) [Inhumanity to man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhumanity-to-man/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Man To Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-to-man/) [Man's Inhumanity To Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mans-inhumanity-to-man/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) ## Related quotes > [For my generation - the "Children of Nixon," as I call us in the book - the Lebanese civil war was an iconic event.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/for-my-generation-the-children-of-nixon-as-i-call-us-in-the-book-the/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [That because of this interplay of conscious and unconscious factors in guilt and the impossibility of legalistic blame, we are forced into an attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/that-because-of-this-interplay-of-conscious-and-unconscious-factors/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The chief source of man's inhumanity to man seems to be the tribal limits of his sense of obligation to other men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-chief-source-of-man-s-inhumanity-to-man-seems-to-be-the-tribal/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Man's inhumanity to man is only surpassed by his cruelty to animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/man-s-inhumanity-to-man-is-only-surpassed-by-his-cruelty-to-animals/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As a human being, I'm concerned about the world that I live in.So, I'm concerned about peace.I'm concerned about man's inhumanity to man. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/as-a-human-being-i-m-concerned-about-the-world-that-i-live-in-so-i-m/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [The only way in which one can make endurable man's inhumanity to man, and man's destruction of his own environment, is to exemplify in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-paton/the-only-way-in-which-one-can-make-endurable-man-s-inhumanity-to-man/) [Alan Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-paton/) > [As long as there is unemployment, war, crime and all things that go to the infliction of man's inhumanity to man, regardless - there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-parks/as-long-as-there-is-unemployment-war-crime-and-all-things-that-go-to/) [Rosa Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-parks/) > [Srebrenica's not simply another reminder of man's inhumanity to man, but how intelligent people can always come up with intelligent reasons to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-simon/srebrenica-s-not-simply-another-reminder-of-man-s-inhumanity-to-man/) [Scott Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-simon/) > [Man's inhumanity to man is not the last word. The truth lies deeper. It is economic slavery, the savage struggle for a crumb, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/man-s-inhumanity-to-man-is-not-the-last-word-the-truth-lies-deeper-it/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Violence against women and lack of intervention and man's inhumanity to man and this kind of atrocities are going on. These are big issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/violence-against-women-and-lack-of-intervention-and-man-s-inhumanity/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [Nature's law, That man was made to mourn. Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn! O Death, the poor man's dearest friend, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/nature-s-law-that-man-was-made-to-mourn-man-s-inhumanity-to-man-makes/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [I feel that non-violence is really the only way that we can follow because violence is just so self-defeating. A riot ends up creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-feel-that-non-violence-is-really-the-only-way-that-we-can-follow/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We can either walk the highroad of brotherhood or the low road of man's inhumanity to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-can-either-walk-the-highroad-of-brotherhood-or-the-low-road-of-man/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I hold too that whatever may be true of other countries, a bloody revolution will not succeed in India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-too-that-whatever-may-be-true-of-other-countries-a-bloody/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The burden of all song and praise "unto the Highest" has been that God stands for justice and mercy. Yet injustice among men is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-burden-of-all-song-and-praise-unto-the-highest-has-been-that-god/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## More by Emma Goldman > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Lack of fairness to an opponent is essentially a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/lack-of-fairness-to-an-opponent-is-essentially-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice-2/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested - for a while at least. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/only-when-human-sorrows-are-turned-into-a-toy-with-glaring-colors/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [More pernicious than the power of a dictator is that of a class; the most terrible - the tyranny of a majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/more-pernicious-than-the-power-of-a-dictator-is-that-of-a-class-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbinger of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the definer of all laws, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/love-the-strongest-and-deepest-element-in-all-life-the-harbinger-of/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Whether our reformers admit it or not, the economic and social inferiority of women is responsible for prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/whether-our-reformers-admit-it-or-not-the-economic-and-social/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-free-expression-of-the-hopes-and-aspirations-of-a-people-is-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/someone-has-said-that-it-requires-less-mental-effort-to-condemn-than/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The persecution of the innovator and protestant has always been inspired by fear on the part of constituted authority of having its infallibility questioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-persecution-of-the-innovator-and-protestant-has-always-been/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Order derived through submission and maintained by terror is not much of a safe guaranty; yet that is the only "order" that governments have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/order-derived-through-submission-and-maintained-by-terror-is-not-much/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Salvation lies in an energetic march onward towards a brighter and clearer future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/salvation-lies-in-an-energetic-march-onward-towards-a-brighter-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The more hideous the mental contortions, the greater the delight and bravos of the mass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-more-hideous-the-mental-contortions-the-greater-the-delight-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) [Explore all 368 Emma Goldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## More Brutality quotes > [All women love semi-rape. They love to be taken.It was his sweet brutality against my bruised body that made his act of love so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/all-women-love-semi-rape-they-love-to-be-taken-it-was-his-sweet/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [“The hunger for power has made them cruel They shed humanity and shed every rule They bow to the devil, deny what is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/the-hunger-for-power-has-made-them-cruel-they-shed-humanity-and-shed/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers, they were his enforcers, they were his thugs. And Hitler discovered that he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fischer/hitler-recruited-around-him-homosexuals-to-make-up-his-stormtroopers/) [Bryan Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fischer/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [The African tribesman, with his complete contempt for truth and his emphasis on brutality and savagery for others but not for himself, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/the-african-tribesman-with-his-complete-contempt-for-truth-and-his/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Never mind a world that can't see past brutality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-ocasek/never-mind-a-world-that-can-t-see-past-brutality/) [Ric Ocasek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-ocasek/) > [I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-am-not-unmindful-that-some-of-you-have-come-here-out-of-great/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The horse-laugh indicates brutality of character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/the-horse-laugh-indicates-brutality-of-character/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [The Negroes of America had taken the President, the press and the pulpit at their word when they spoke in broad terms of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negroes-of-america-had-taken-the-president-the-press-and-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We need tremendous energy to bring about a psychological change in ourselves as human beings, because we have lived far too long in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/we-need-tremendous-energy-to-bring-about-a-psychological-change-in/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I see myself capable of arrogance and brutality... That's a fierce thing, to discover within yourself that which you despise the most in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stevens/i-see-myself-capable-of-arrogance-and-brutality-that-s-a-fierce-thing/) [George Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stevens/) > [The very opposite of freedom is cliche, and nothing is less free, more inert with convention and hollow brutality, than a row of four-letter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-very-opposite-of-freedom-is-cliche-and-nothing-is-less-free-more/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [I can tell you countless instances of this country's history of brutality, of inequity, of heartlessness. But if I do that without also talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-moore/i-can-tell-you-countless-instances-of-this-country-s-history-of/) [Wes Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-moore/) > [What draws men and women together is stronger than the brutality and tyranny which drive them apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-fawcett/what-draws-men-and-women-together-is-stronger-than-the-brutality-and/) [Millicent Fawcett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-fawcett/) > [Whether it comes from a despotic sovereign or an elected president, from a murderous general or a beloved leader, I see power as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/whether-it-comes-from-a-despotic-sovereign-or-an-elected-president/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) [Browse all 427 Brutality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No revolution can ever succeed as a factor of liberation unless the MEANS used to further it be identical in spirit and tendency with the PURPOSES to be achieved. Revolution is the negation of the existing, a violent protest against man's inhumanity to man with all the thousand and one slaveries it involves. It is the destroyer of dominant values upon which a complex system of injustice, oppression, and wrong has been built up by ignorance and brutality. It is the herald of NEW VALUES, ushering in a transformation of the basic relations of man to man, and of man to society.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emma Goldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-factor-of-liberation-unless-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brutality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-factor-of-liberation-unless-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/emma-goldman-774_brutality_no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-fact_2525546.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/emma-goldman-774_brutality_no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-fact_2525546.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/emma-goldman-774_brutality_no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-fact_2525546.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No revolution can ever succeed as a factor of liberation unless the MEANS used to further it be identical in…” — Emma Goldman", "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": "Emma Goldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No revolution can ever succeed as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-factor-of-liberation-unless-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/no-revolution-can-ever-succeed-as-a-factor-of-liberation-unless-the/#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 } } ] } ```