--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most revolutionaries are potential…" description: "\"Most revolutionaries are potential Tories, because they imagine that everything can be put right by altering the shape of society; once that change is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/george-orwell-57_change_most-revolutionaries-are-potential-torie_1688029.jpg" --- # Most revolutionaries are potential Tories, because they… ![“Most revolutionaries are potential Tories, because they imagine that everything can be put right by altering the shape of society; once that change is effected, as it sometimes is, they see no need for any other.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/george-orwell-57_change_most-revolutionaries-are-potential-torie_1688029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/george-orwell-57_change_most-revolutionaries-are-potential-torie_1688029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/643/george-orwell-57_change_most-revolutionaries-are-potential-torie_1688029.jpg) > “Most revolutionaries are potential Tories, because they imagine that everything can be put right by altering the shape of society; once that change is effected, as it sometimes is, they see no need for any other.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Revolutionaries may become conservatives after achieving change, seeing no further need for reform. **In simple terms:** Power can shift after success. Key Takeaway Beware complacency after change. Themes politics revolution ideology power dynamics Mood cautious critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy reform - social movements - government transitions Key Concepts historical cycles political theory Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards prevent post‑revolution stagnation? - How can continuous improvement be ensured? A Different Perspective Revolutionary ideals may be diluted over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutionaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionaries/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Tories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tories/) ## Related quotes > [A striking feature of moral and political argument in the modern world is the extent to which it is innovators, radicals, and revolutionaries who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-macintyre/a-striking-feature-of-moral-and-political-argument-in-the-modern/) [Alasdair MacIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-macintyre/) > [“All the brass instruments and big drums in the world cannot turn ‘God Save the King’ into a good tune, but on the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/all-the-brass-instruments-and-big-drums-in-the-world-cannot-turn-god/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I think the Tories are doing - and are intent on doing - damage to things I hold dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/i-think-the-tories-are-doing-and-are-intent-on-doing-damage-to-things/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [As someone who won both a Council seat and a parliamentary seat from the Tories, I know better than most how much well-resourced campaigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-streeting/as-someone-who-won-both-a-council-seat-and-a-parliamentary-seat-from/) [Wes Streeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-streeting/) > [They say that the older you get, the more conservative you become: perhaps that's the reason there are no Tories in Scotland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/they-say-that-the-older-you-get-the-more-conservative-you-become/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [I've never done any cross-party stuff. 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They know the public doesn't agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-benn/the-tories-claim-that-they-have-changed-their-stance-on-foxhunting/) [Hilary Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-benn/) > [I've instinctively hated the Tories since birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-ve-instinctively-hated-the-tories-since-birth/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [I wanted us to go to the Tories when we were strong...not in misfortune to be made an honest woman of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-wanted-us-to-go-to-the-tories-when-we-were-strong-not-in-misfortune/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [If the Tories and Lib Dems fought together, they'd keep their ministerial offices and limousines, and continue to do the right things for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/if-the-tories-and-lib-dems-fought-together-they-d-keep-their/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. 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In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. 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