--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only way to change American society…" description: "\"The only way to change American society, and indeed I think this is true of other societies as well, is for people to discover the power latent in the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/frances-fox-piven-41878_american-society_the-only-way-to-change-american-society_293287.png" --- # The only way to change American society, and indeed I… ![“The only way to change American society, and indeed I think this is true of other societies as well, is for people to discover the power latent in the cooperative roles that they play in a range of institutions.” quote by Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/frances-fox-piven-41878_american-society_the-only-way-to-change-american-society_293287.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/frances-fox-piven-41878_american-society_the-only-way-to-change-american-society_293287.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/frances-fox-piven-41878_american-society_the-only-way-to-change-american-society_293287.png) > “The only way to change American society, and indeed I think this is true of other societies as well, is for people to discover the power latent in the cooperative roles that they play in a range of institutions.” [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal transformation relies on recognizing and harnessing cooperative roles within institutions. **In simple terms:** Change comes from using cooperative roles. Key Takeaway Identify and activate cooperative roles. Themes social change cooperation institutions empowerment Mood hopeful determined Type political inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy reform - grassroots movements - civic engagement Key Concepts collective action latent power institutional dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals foster cooperation in resistant institutions? - What barriers prevent latent cooperative power from emerging? A Different Perspective Cooperation alone may not overcome entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-society/) [Change American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-american-1687118/) [Cooperatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperatives/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Latent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latent/) [Latent Cooperative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latent-cooperative-2817652/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Range](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/range/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Society Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-think-235984/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [True Societies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-societies-2817653/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that the only way to change American society, and indeed I think this is true of other societies as well, is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-believe-that-the-only-way-to-change-american-society-and-indeed-i/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [You can't jam change down the American people's throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hastert/you-can-t-jam-change-down-the-american-people-s-throat/) [Dennis Hastert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hastert/) > [Let me start off by saying that in 2000 I said, 'Vote for me. I'm an agent of change.' In 2004, I said, 'I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/let-me-start-off-by-saying-that-in-2000-i-said-vote-for-me-i-m-an/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I would not change very much about the American theater. I marvel and rejoice in the way the country's regional theaters have formed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ludwig/i-would-not-change-very-much-about-the-american-theater-i-marvel-and/) [Ken Ludwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ludwig/) > [Constant change is part of the American culture for most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-pruitt/constant-change-is-part-of-the-american-culture-for-most-people/) [Rob Pruitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-pruitt/) > [The '60s were a time of great change in American music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-patsavas/the-60s-were-a-time-of-great-change-in-american-music/) [Alexandra Patsavas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-patsavas/) > [The fact that so many are willing to accept need-based aid signals a fundamental change in the American character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eberstadt/the-fact-that-so-many-are-willing-to-accept-need-based-aid-signals-a/) [Nicholas Eberstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eberstadt/) > [I propose that there is another kind of power based not on resources, things, or attributes, but rooted in the social and cooperative relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-propose-that-there-is-another-kind-of-power-based-not-on-resources/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [Think of civil society and the state as joined in a marriage of necessity. You already know who the wife is, the one who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/think-of-civil-society-and-the-state-as-joined-in-a-marriage-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [It may be that we have become so feckless as a people that we no longer care how things do work, but only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/it-may-be-that-we-have-become-so-feckless-as-a-people-that-we-no/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Oh, I love London Society! I think it has immensely improved. It is entirely composed now of beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics. Just what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/oh-i-love-london-society-i-think-it-has-immensely-improved-it-is/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [We're often accused of trying to manipulate opinion or that we're trying to elevate society. I think that the greatest thing we can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-devlin/we-re-often-accused-of-trying-to-manipulate-opinion-or-that-we-re/) [Dean Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-devlin/) > [As a society, I think we express our cultural mores through our politics. We're trying constantly to figure out what's OK and what's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/as-a-society-i-think-we-express-our-cultural-mores-through-our/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/your-own-acts-tell-the-world-who-you-are-and-what-kind-of-society-you/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Either the rest of the world can't live like the developed world or we need, as a society, to think more about the technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-graedel/either-the-rest-of-the-world-can-t-live-like-the-developed-world-or/) [Thomas Graedel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-graedel/) ## More by Frances Fox Piven > [I think that the question of how power can be exerted from the lower reaches has never been more important. It will ultimately determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-think-that-the-question-of-how-power-can-be-exerted-from-the-lower/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [I remember my father explaining, "A capitalist system is a dog-eat-dog system."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-remember-my-father-explaining-a-capitalist-system-is-a-dog-eat-dog/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [I propose that there is another kind of power based not on resources, things, or attributes, but rooted in the social and cooperative relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-propose-that-there-is-another-kind-of-power-based-not-on-resources/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [There's nothing wrong with changing your mind if you think something's right at a certain moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-changing-your-mind-if-you-think-something/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [I believe in the necessity for struggle by people at the bottom of any society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-believe-in-the-necessity-for-struggle-by-people-at-the-bottom-of/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [I believe that the only way to change American society, and indeed I think this is true of other societies as well, is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-believe-that-the-only-way-to-change-american-society-and-indeed-i/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [Indeed, in US politics, 'poverty', along with 'welfare', 'unwed mothers' and 'crime', became code words for blacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/indeed-in-us-politics-poverty-along-with-welfare-unwed-mothers-and/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [I had no intention of becoming an academic. How could a person who was having trouble reading become an academic?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-had-no-intention-of-becoming-an-academic-how-could-a-person-who-was/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [I think that we're at an alarming moment in American political development and maybe in world political development, because the United States is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-think-that-we-re-at-an-alarming-moment-in-american-political/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) [Explore all 10 Frances Fox Piven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) ## More American society quotes > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't see much future for the Americans ... it's a decayed country. And they have their racial problem, and the problem of social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-don-t-see-much-future-for-the-americans-it-s-a-decayed-country-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I have tried to defend what is most precious to our American society, a society that is now at war against the forces of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demian-bichir/i-have-tried-to-defend-what-is-most-precious-to-our-american-society/) [Demian Bichir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demian-bichir/) > [Cumulatively, American society is sliding toward a new form of 'authoritarian democracy'. Elections continue, free speech is generally protected, institutions operate in accordance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/cumulatively-american-society-is-sliding-toward-a-new-form-of/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [“As a culture, we had no heroes. Certainly not any politician--Barack Obama was then the most admired man in America (and likely still is),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-culture-we-had-no-heroes-certainly-not-any-politician-barack/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [ “The Sexual plight of these children \[those adolescents experimenting sexually\] is officially not mentioned. The revolutionary attack on hypocrisy by Ibsen, Freud, Ellis, Dreiser,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-those-adolescents-experimenting/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Hip-hop is contributing to American society's misogyny and racism, hyper-sexuality anti-Black representations. Hip-Hop isn't setting the standard for misogyny. No one reduces the presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/hip-hop-is-contributing-to-american-society-s-misogyny-and-racism/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [I believe it is essential to have English as the official language of our National Government, for the English language is the tie that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/i-believe-it-is-essential-to-have-english-as-the-official-language-of/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [Black people cannot and will not become integrated into American society on any terms but those of self-determination and autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-people-cannot-and-will-not-become-integrated-into-american/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [Black people in America have to, for their own protection, develop a defense mechanism, and I just grew terribly tired of it. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-robinson/black-people-in-america-have-to-for-their-own-protection-develop-a/) [Randall Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-robinson/) > [Public image is extremely important in American society and I observed personally that the Presidency of John F. Kennedy did much in the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/public-image-is-extremely-important-in-american-society-and-i/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [Sometimes, you know, the president is a father-like figure in American society, to most Americans, even today, no matter how cynical we've become. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/sometimes-you-know-the-president-is-a-father-like-figure-in-american/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [The family has always been the cornerstone of American society. Our families nurture, preserve, and pass on to each succeeding generation the values we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-family-has-always-been-the-cornerstone-of-american-society-our/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [While President Barack Obama has, in one sense, tipped his hand by saying that he wants judges with "empathy" for certain groups, he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/while-president-barack-obama-has-in-one-sense-tipped-his-hand-by/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Browse all 315 American society quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-society/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only way to change American society, and indeed I think this is true of other societies as well, is for people to discover the power latent in the cooperative roles that they play in a range of institutions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Fox Piven" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/the-only-way-to-change-american-society-and-indeed-i-think-this-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American society" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/the-only-way-to-change-american-society-and-indeed-i-think-this-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/frances-fox-piven-41878_american-society_the-only-way-to-change-american-society_293287.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/frances-fox-piven-41878_american-society_the-only-way-to-change-american-society_293287.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/frances-fox-piven-41878_american-society_the-only-way-to-change-american-society_293287.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only way to change American society, and indeed I think this is true of other societies as well, is for…” — Frances Fox Piven", "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": "Frances Fox Piven", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only way to change American...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/the-only-way-to-change-american-society-and-indeed-i-think-this-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/the-only-way-to-change-american-society-and-indeed-i-think-this-is/#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 } } ] } ```