--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a democratic society, as Max Weber…" description: "\"In a democratic society, as Max Weber said, what is possible is only possible because some people have demanded the impossible. The abolitionists helpe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/eric-foner-20891_abolitionist_in-a-democratic-society-as-max-weber-sai_1801374.jpg" --- # In a democratic society, as Max Weber said, what is… ![“In a democratic society, as Max Weber said, what is possible is only possible because some people have demanded the impossible. The abolitionists helped to create a public discourse in which men like Lincoln become possible. That doesn't mean Lincoln is an abolitionist. It means there is a public…” quote by Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/eric-foner-20891_abolitionist_in-a-democratic-society-as-max-weber-sai_1801374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/eric-foner-20891_abolitionist_in-a-democratic-society-as-max-weber-sai_1801374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/eric-foner-20891_abolitionist_in-a-democratic-society-as-max-weber-sai_1801374.jpg) > “In a democratic society, as Max Weber said, what is possible is only possible because some people have demanded the impossible. The abolitionists helped to create a public discourse in which men like Lincoln become possible. That doesn't mean Lincoln is an abolitionist. It means there is a public opinion out there which is being influenced by antislavery sentiment.” [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Progressive change often relies on demanding what seems impossible, shaping public opinion to enable reforms. **In simple terms:** Impossible ideas can become possible through collective demand. Key Takeaway Support bold ideas that challenge the status quo. Themes social change public discourse history activism Mood inspirational reflective Type historical motivational When to use this quote - civil rights movements - policy advocacy - grassroots campaigns Key Concepts collective action ideological shift political will Questions to Reflect On - What makes an impossible idea credible? - How can we sustain momentum after a breakthrough? A Different Perspective Impossible demands can provoke backlash or be co-opted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolitionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist/) [Abolitionist Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist-means-2033499/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-society/) [Discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discourse/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Impossible Abolitionists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible-abolitionists-2033496/) [Lincoln Abolitionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lincoln-abolitionist-2033497/) [Lincoln Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lincoln-possible-2033498/) [Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/max/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/max-weber/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-discourse/) [Public opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-opinion/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sentiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentiments/) [Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weber/) ## Related quotes > [I tend to be a loner – I think a lot of social theorists are like that. On one level, the majority of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ritzer/i-tend-to-be-a-loner-i-think-a-lot-of-social-theorists-are-like-that/) [George Ritzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ritzer/) > [Max Weber was right in subscribing to the view that one need not be Caesar in order to understand Caesar. But there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-merton/max-weber-was-right-in-subscribing-to-the-view-that-one-need-not-be/) [Robert K. Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-merton/) > [Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/believing-with-max-weber-that-man-is-an-animal-suspended-in-webs-of/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) > [My mind and fingers have worked like the damned. Homer, the Bible, Plato, Locke, Lamartine, Chateaubriand, Beethoven, Bach, Hummel, Mozart, Weber are all around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-liszt/my-mind-and-fingers-have-worked-like-the-damned-homer-the-bible-plato/) [Franz Liszt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-liszt/) > [While there are many varieties of grills, each with their own virtues to be sure, I prefer the standard Weber kettle grill. Don't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-seaver/while-there-are-many-varieties-of-grills-each-with-their-own-virtues/) [Barton Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-seaver/) > [Weber's writing is as strong as any in the Contemporary Folk community. ' Goodbye to Dad' is one of the best original tunes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-anderson/weber-s-writing-is-as-strong-as-any-in-the-contemporary-folk/) [Christopher Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-anderson/) > [The very first big photo shoot I ever did was with Bruce Weber. I couldn't believe this guy was taking my picture, so when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/the-very-first-big-photo-shoot-i-ever-did-was-with-bruce-weber-i/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [About a minute-and-a-half to go. He goes on a down-and-in pass. As soon as he caught it, I really puffed him, and his head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-bednarik/about-a-minute-and-a-half-to-go-he-goes-on-a-down-and-in-pass-as-soon/) [Chuck Bednarik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-bednarik/) > [Coach Bruce Weber told me in a meeting that all I have to do is play pretty well. The rest of the guys are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-augustine/coach-bruce-weber-told-me-in-a-meeting-that-all-i-have-to-do-is-play/) [James Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-augustine/) > [The attention from the fashion world is something that I didn't expect. I've shot with Bruce Weber and met Karl Lagerfeld. Having that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-ratajkowski/the-attention-from-the-fashion-world-is-something-that-i-didn-t/) [Emily Ratajkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-ratajkowski/) > [The whole world tried to reproduce the Weber experiments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-whole-world-tried-to-reproduce-the-weber-experiments/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [ Raymond Aron ascribes to Weber the view that 'each man's conscience is irrefutable.' ... while \[Weber\] holds that an agent may be more or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-macintyre/raymond-aron-ascribes-to-weber-the-view-that-each-man-s-conscience-is/) [Alasdair MacIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-macintyre/) > [The simplest fix for better grilling is to line the inside of your barbecue with tin foil. It dramatically affects how evenly the heat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/the-simplest-fix-for-better-grilling-is-to-line-the-inside-of-your/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [If you own a simple Weber kettle grill, you own a smoker. You don't have to spend an enormous amount of money or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-raichlen/if-you-own-a-simple-weber-kettle-grill-you-own-a-smoker-you-don-t/) [Steven Raichlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-raichlen/) > [One night when the kids were young I made myself a bet that I could make an entire meal on our Weber grill and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-doocy/one-night-when-the-kids-were-young-i-made-myself-a-bet-that-i-could/) [Steve Doocy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-doocy/) ## More by Eric Foner > [“Successful teaching rests both on a genuine and selfless concern for students and on the ability to convey to them a love of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/successful-teaching-rests-both-on-a-genuine-and-selfless-concern-for/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [A man working for wages his whole life is not really free. That is why Jefferson said, you have to own land. Southerners said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/a-man-working-for-wages-his-whole-life-is-not-really-free-that-is-why/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [There are those who view the abolitionists as just maniacs, apolitical fanatics who helped to cause the war, and Lincoln is the model of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/there-are-those-who-view-the-abolitionists-as-just-maniacs-apolitical/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“New laws also redefined in the interest of the planter the terms of credit and the right to property—the essence of economic power in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/new-laws-also-redefined-in-the-interest-of-the-planter-the-terms-of/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slavery-ended-african-americans/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [ I don't \[even\] know the number of books on Abraham Lincoln. Ten thousand, twelve thousand? I have seen various numbers. It seems like every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/i-don-t-even-know-the-number-of-books-on-abraham-lincoln-ten-thousand/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“Ironically, as Illinois Sen. Richard Yates pointed out, opponents of expansionism employed arguments extremely reminiscent of proslavery ideology, while its supporters upheld the principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/ironically-as-illinois-sen-richard-yates-pointed-out-opponents-of/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Whatever Lincoln's racial views, which are not totally modern and egalitarian in many ways, he believes blacks should have this natural right to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/whatever-lincoln-s-racial-views-which-are-not-totally-modern-and/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“It is a well known fact that Abraham Lincoln spent much of his spare time visiting wounded soldiers in Union Army hospitals. I've spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-abraham-lincoln-spent-much-of-his-spare/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“Republicans, white and black, heaped scorn upon “respectables” who did not participate directly in the violence but “could not stop their sons from murdering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/republicans-white-and-black-heaped-scorn-upon-respectables-who-did/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Look, Mrs. McGillicuddy, it's not my fault your son jumped out a dorm room window on Christmas eve. I've written over fifty books as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/look-mrs-mcgillicuddy-it-s-not-my-fault-your-son-jumped-out-a-dorm/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Who owns history? Everyone and no one--which is why the study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/who-owns-history-everyone-and-no-one-which-is-why-the-study-of-the/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [For historians, hindsight can be a treacherous ally. Enabling us to trace the hidden patterns of past events, it beguiles us with the mirage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/for-historians-hindsight-can-be-a-treacherous-ally-enabling-us-to/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [I admire Lincoln enormously and I think what's interesting about Lincoln is how he changes, it's not that he held the same view throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/i-admire-lincoln-enormously-and-i-think-what-s-interesting-about/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Lincoln has accepted America as a biracial society. He's talking about giving at least some black men the right to vote. In the Emancipation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/lincoln-has-accepted-america-as-a-biracial-society-he-s-talking-about/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) [Explore all 30 Eric Foner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) ## More Abolitionist quotes > [Nowhere is wisdom more necessary than in the guidance of charitable impulses. Meaning well is only half our duty; Thinking right is the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gridley-howe/nowhere-is-wisdom-more-necessary-than-in-the-guidance-of-charitable/) [Samuel Gridley Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gridley-howe/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [“That was when I realized we weren’t born to be slaves. It was ignorant for any man to think he could be the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-grewal/that-was-when-i-realized-we-weren-t-born-to-be-slaves-it-was-ignorant/) [Jay Grewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-grewal/) > [I feel safe even in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-feel-safe-even-in-the-midst-of-my-enemies-for-the-truth-is-powerful/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [One of the songs that stayed in my head that I really considered a lot was an old folk song called 'John Brown' -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/one-of-the-songs-that-stayed-in-my-head-that-i-really-considered-a/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Whether by the House or by the People, if an Abolitionist be chosen President of the United States, you will have presented to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-davis/whether-by-the-house-or-by-the-people-if-an-abolitionist-be-chosen/) [Jefferson Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-davis/) > [Many abolitionists have yet to learn the ABC of woman's rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/many-abolitionists-have-yet-to-learn-the-abc-of-woman-s-rights/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [You point out that war is only a symptom of the whole horrid business of human behavior, and cannot be isolated. And that, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/you-point-out-that-war-is-only-a-symptom-of-the-whole-horrid-business/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [It’s time for a 21st-century abolitionist movement in the U.S and around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/it-s-time-for-a-21st-century-abolitionist-movement-in-the-u-s-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [If, while I hear the wild shriek of the slave mother robbed of her little ones, I do not open my mouth, am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-stone/if-while-i-hear-the-wild-shriek-of-the-slave-mother-robbed-of-her/) [Lucy Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-stone/) > [I was in favour of the death penalty, and disposed to regard abolitionists as people whose hearts were bigger than their heads. Four years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gowers/i-was-in-favour-of-the-death-penalty-and-disposed-to-regard/) [Ernest Gowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gowers/) > [There are those who view the abolitionists as just maniacs, apolitical fanatics who helped to cause the war, and Lincoln is the model of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/there-are-those-who-view-the-abolitionists-as-just-maniacs-apolitical/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [In such a condition of affairs, the practical difference between the abolitionist and the sympathizer, to the man who lost his slave and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sergeant-wise/in-such-a-condition-of-affairs-the-practical-difference-between-the/) [John Sergeant Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sergeant-wise/) > [If I had to write down the most important people in the history of this planet, No.1 would be (abolitionist) John Brown. Why? Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/if-i-had-to-write-down-the-most-important-people-in-the-history-of/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [“These men are all talk. What we need is action—action!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brown/these-men-are-all-talk-what-we-need-is-action-action/) [John Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brown/) [Browse all 90 Abolitionist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a democratic society, as Max Weber said, what is possible is only possible because some people have demanded the impossible. The abolitionists helped to create a public discourse in which men like Lincoln become possible. That doesn't mean Lincoln is an abolitionist. 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