--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that change comes from the…" description: "\"I believe that change comes from the bottom, not the top.\" — Gloria Steinem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/gloria-steinem-277_believe_i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bot_1615214.jpg" --- # I believe that change comes from the bottom, not the top. ![“I believe that change comes from the bottom, not the top.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/gloria-steinem-277_believe_i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bot_1615214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/gloria-steinem-277_believe_i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bot_1615214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/gloria-steinem-277_believe_i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bot_1615214.jpg) > “I believe that change comes from the bottom, not the top.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True change originates from grassroots movements, not top‑down directives. **In simple terms:** Bottom‑up change is powerful. Key Takeaway Support grassroots initiatives. Themes activism social change empowerment Mood inspirational hopeful Type activist philosophical When to use this quote - political campaigns - community projects - social reform Key Concepts political theory community organizing Questions to Reflect On - How can you empower local voices? - What role should leaders play? A Different Perspective Top‑down policies can also be effective; balance is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-change/) [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-comes/) [Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [“Change comes from within, not from outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-maufroy/change-comes-from-within-not-from-outside/) [Muriel Maufroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-maufroy/) > [Social change comes through people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/social-change-comes-through-people/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [The electoral system is not where change starts - it usually starts in communities and from the bottom up - but it is where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-electoral-system-is-not-where-change-starts-it-usually-starts-in/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Any insistence on equal pay is crucial and any redefinition of work to include caregiving work so that it also has an economic value,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/any-insistence-on-equal-pay-is-crucial-and-any-redefinition-of-work/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I like working with people. I believe change can only come through collaboration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-working-with-people-i-believe-change-can-only-come-through/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/lifting-whole-passages-from-someone-else-s-speeches-is-not-change-you/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I wanted to show them I will never give up. We have to keep together. I still believe in myself. I will never change.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-di-canio/i-wanted-to-show-them-i-will-never-give-up-we-have-to-keep-together-i/) [Paolo Di Canio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-di-canio/) > [I believe change to be a good thing. Everything must evolve but you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-jordan/i-believe-change-to-be-a-good-thing-everything-must-evolve-but-you/) [Simon Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-jordan/) > [“Refusing to believe that change can occur at any moment is one of the worst of human failings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hershkovich/refusing-to-believe-that-change-can-occur-at-any-moment-is-one-of-the/) [Leigh Hershkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hershkovich/) > [We're on some path that's set since we're born, but I still believe we can change some things. So I believe in my faith,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rm/we-re-on-some-path-that-s-set-since-we-re-born-but-i-still-believe-we/) [RM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rm/) > [If you believe you can change - if you make it a habit - the change becomes real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/if-you-believe-you-can-change-if-you-make-it-a-habit-the-change/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [“When you change what you believe, you change what you do... which changes what you get.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odille-rault/when-you-change-what-you-believe-you-change-what-you-do-which-changes/) [Odille Rault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odille-rault/) > [I'm not sure I want to preserve the old ways just for the sake of saying, 'I don't believe in change.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-randolph/i-m-not-sure-i-want-to-preserve-the-old-ways-just-for-the-sake-of/) [Marc Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-randolph/) > [Many leaders of big organizations, I think, don't believe that change is possible. But if you look at history, things do change, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/many-leaders-of-big-organizations-i-think-don-t-believe-that-change/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [I believe we change for two reasons: Either you learn enough that you want to, or you've been hurt enough that you have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-roby/i-believe-we-change-for-two-reasons-either-you-learn-enough-that-you/) [Crystal Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-roby/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [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/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe that change comes from the bottom, not the top.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bottom-not-the-top/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bottom-not-the-top/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/gloria-steinem-277_believe_i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bot_1615214.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/gloria-steinem-277_believe_i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bot_1615214.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/gloria-steinem-277_believe_i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bot_1615214.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe that change comes from the bottom, not the top.” — Gloria Steinem", "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": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I believe that change comes from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bottom-not-the-top/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-believe-that-change-comes-from-the-bottom-not-the-top/#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 } } ] } ```