--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reformers have the idea that change can…" description: "\"Reformers have the idea that change can be achieved by brute sanity.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/george-bernard-shaw-68_brutes_reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can_1832325.png" --- # Reformers have the idea that change can be achieved by… ![“Reformers have the idea that change can be achieved by brute sanity.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/george-bernard-shaw-68_brutes_reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can_1832325.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/george-bernard-shaw-68_brutes_reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can_1832325.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/george-bernard-shaw-68_brutes_reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can_1832325.png) > “Reformers have the idea that change can be achieved by brute sanity.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Change requires rational, sane approaches rather than brute force or irrationality. **In simple terms:** Reasoned reform beats brute force. Key Takeaway Apply logical strategies for reform. Themes reform reason strategy Mood analytical critical Type dramatic philosophical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - activist planning - organizational change - education programs Key Concepts Rationalism social engineering political theory Questions to Reflect On - What rational tools can you employ? - When is force necessary? A Different Perspective May underestimate emotional motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Reformers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformers/) [Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity/) ## Related quotes > [“The problem of brute sanity was identified by George Bernard Shaw when he observed that ‘reformers have the idea that change can be achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-bearne/the-problem-of-brute-sanity-was-identified-by-george-bernard-shaw/) Eve Bearne > [Life can change anything, but try do change the change; then u will be achieved something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/life-can-change-anything-but-try-do-change-the-change-then-u-will-be/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Change leads to disappointment if it is not sustained. Transformation is sustained change, and it is achieved through practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/change-leads-to-disappointment-if-it-is-not-sustained-transformation/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [A great social reformer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-great-social-reformer/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The best reformers the world has ever seen are those who commence on themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-best-reformers-the-world-has-ever-seen-are-those-who-commence-on/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I'd say, 90 percent of the time, I get an idea, like, within 10 seconds of somebody telling me what their whole thing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-march/i-d-say-90-percent-of-the-time-i-get-an-idea-like-within-10-seconds/) [Chris March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-march/) > [In the case of 'Fish,' I did the writing, design, and code all at the same time, so the form and the content were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/in-the-case-of-fish-i-did-the-writing-design-and-code-all-at-the-same/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“I love the idea that a name might change based on who you are at a given moment in time. Lia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-the-idea-that-a-name-might-change-based-on-who-you-are-at-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Bill Clinton's incredibly bold idea was to change the grant to a transaction: we'll give you something, but we demand something back; the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/bill-clinton-s-incredibly-bold-idea-was-to-change-the-grant-to-a/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [One song can change a moment... One idea can change a world... One step can start a journey... but a PRAYER can change even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/one-song-can-change-a-moment-one-idea-can-change-a-world-one-step-can/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“The idea is to change the nature and value system of the nation as whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-idea-is-to-change-the-nature-and-value-system-of-the-nation-as/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-haven-t-got-the-slightest-idea-how-to-change-people-but-still-i/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [The sentiment that I had a little trouble with was the idea that, "You change the school, you change the community." I couldn't wrap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/the-sentiment-that-i-had-a-little-trouble-with-was-the-idea-that-you/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [“Well, what he done to you is a fact. It is what it is. But what it means is just an idea. You can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-t-vargus/well-what-he-done-to-you-is-a-fact-it-is-what-it-is-but-what-it-means/) [L.T. Vargus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-t-vargus/) > [I can't build a simple shelf. I have no idea how to change an oil filter on a car. I can't even stick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-can-t-build-a-simple-shelf-i-have-no-idea-how-to-change-an-oil/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Brutes quotes > [Et tu Brute! (You too, Brutus!)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/et-tu-brute-you-too-brutus/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [War with all its glorification of brute force is essentially a degrading thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/war-with-all-its-glorification-of-brute-force-is-essentially-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/the-philosophic-spirit-of-inquiry-may-be-traced-to-brute-curiosity/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [A good soldier is a blind, heartless, soulless, murderous machine. He is not a man. His is not a brute, for brutes kill only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/a-good-soldier-is-a-blind-heartless-soulless-murderous-machine-he-is/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [In order to increase his pleasures, man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs, which in their original state were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-order-to-increase-his-pleasures-man-has-intentionally-added-to-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [What took me decades to learn, these kids can get on the Internet...What I learned by brute force, dealing out hands, they learn on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doyle-brunson/what-took-me-decades-to-learn-these-kids-can-get-on-the-internet-what/) [Doyle Brunson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doyle-brunson/) > [In the code of the satyagrahi, there is no such thing as surrender to brute force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-the-code-of-the-satyagrahi-there-is-no-such-thing-as-surrender-to/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The civil magistrate cannot function without some ethical guidance, without some standard of good and evil. If that standard is not to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-civil-magistrate-cannot-function-without-some-ethical-guidance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our reverence for the nobility of manhood will not be lessened by the knowledge that man is in substance and in structure, one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/our-reverence-for-the-nobility-of-manhood-will-not-be-lessened-by-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/they-were-conquerors-and-for-that-you-want-only-brute-force-nothing/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [When under the influence of certain (or some) reasons (or causes) (alcohol, war, etc - added Spir here) the low instincts are unbridled (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/when-under-the-influence-of-certain-or-some-reasons-or-causes-alcohol/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. 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A more and more apparent cleavage occurs between the spirit and the brute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-more-a-man-cultivates-the-arts-the-less-he-fornicates-a-more-and/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) Browse all 375 Brutes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Reformers have the idea that change can be achieved by brute sanity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can-be-achieved-by-brute-sanity/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brutes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can-be-achieved-by-brute-sanity/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/george-bernard-shaw-68_brutes_reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can_1832325.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/george-bernard-shaw-68_brutes_reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can_1832325.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/george-bernard-shaw-68_brutes_reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can_1832325.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reformers have the idea that change can be achieved by brute sanity.” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Reformers have the idea that change...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can-be-achieved-by-brute-sanity/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/reformers-have-the-idea-that-change-can-be-achieved-by-brute-sanity/#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 } } ] } ```