--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The main problem is that for a boycott to…" description: "\"The main problem is that for a boycott to be effective, you must first persuade thousands - maybe even millions of others - to go along, which is a lot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/l-neil-smith-3636_along_the-main-problem-is-that-for-a-boycott-t_1172111.png" --- # The main problem is that for a boycott to be effective… ![“The main problem is that for a boycott to be effective, you must first persuade thousands - maybe even millions of others - to go along, which is a lot of work and usually not successful.” quote by L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/l-neil-smith-3636_along_the-main-problem-is-that-for-a-boycott-t_1172111.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/l-neil-smith-3636_along_the-main-problem-is-that-for-a-boycott-t_1172111.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/l-neil-smith-3636_along_the-main-problem-is-that-for-a-boycott-t_1172111.png) > “The main problem is that for a boycott to be effective, you must first persuade thousands - maybe even millions of others - to go along, which is a lot of work and usually not successful.” [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective boycotts require mass persuasion, a massive coordination challenge that often leads to failure. **In simple terms:** Boycotts need many supporters to work. Key Takeaway Build broad consensus before activism. Themes activism strategy collective action Mood strategic realistic Type political practical When to use this quote - political campaigns - consumer protests - online petitions Key Concepts social movements political economy Questions to Reflect On - How can you efficiently rally support? - What alternatives exist to boycotts? A Different Perspective Mobilizing large groups is resource‑intensive and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Along](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/along/) [Boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boycott/) [Boycott Effective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boycott-effective-3401665/) [Effective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effective/) [Effective Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effective-persuade-3401667/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Lot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lot/) [Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/main/) [Maybe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [Must](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/must/) [Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/others/) [Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade/) [Persuade Thousands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade-thousands-3401666/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem Boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-boycott-3401664/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Thousands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousands/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [A good symbol is the best argument, and is a missionary to persuade thousands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-good-symbol-is-the-best-argument-and-is-a-missionary-to-persuade/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I believe that the boycott that we have against Cuba is counterproductive, and it also makes the twelve million or so Cuban people suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-believe-that-the-boycott-that-we-have-against-cuba-is/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I believe boycotts are wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/i-believe-boycotts-are-wrong/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [The road to social justice for the farm worker is the road of unionization. Our cause, our strike against table grapes and our international…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/the-road-to-social-justice-for-the-farm-worker-is-the-road-of/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [I'm not encouraging massive boycotts of turning off the news. That's what the left does. I'm just telling you my own personal experience. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-m-not-encouraging-massive-boycotts-of-turning-off-the-news-that-s/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ \[Boycott Oscar\] is like crying about not having enough icing on your cake. It's just ridiculous. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/boycott-oscar-is-like-crying-about-not-having-enough-icing-on-your/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [Americans should boycott Yahoo products until they get the message that freedom is an American ideal, and we're not going to give it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shervin-pishevar/americans-should-boycott-yahoo-products-until-they-get-the-message/) [Shervin Pishevar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shervin-pishevar/) > [Six imams removed from a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix are calling on Muslims to boycott the airline. If only we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/six-imams-removed-from-a-us-airways-flight-from-minneapolis-to/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [I support the boycott because I do not think at this stage there is any other way to make our authorities see and understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yekaterina-samutsevich/i-support-the-boycott-because-i-do-not-think-at-this-stage-there-is/) [Yekaterina Samutsevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yekaterina-samutsevich/) > [Well, I certainly hope the Democrats participate. I continue to think that some things transcend politics like the murder of four of our fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-gowdy/well-i-certainly-hope-the-democrats-participate-i-continue-to-think/) [Trey Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-gowdy/) > [If you want to boycott Israel because of Palestine, I don't think you actually care, because you're also boycotting 2 million Muslim Palestinian Israelis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuseir-yassin/if-you-want-to-boycott-israel-because-of-palestine-i-don-t-think-you/) [Nuseir Yassin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuseir-yassin/) > [When I was teaching at an institution that bent over backward for foreign students, I was asked in class one day: "What is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/when-i-was-teaching-at-an-institution-that-bent-over-backward-for/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [We shall strike. We shall organize boycotts. We shall demonstrate and have political campaigns. We shall pursue the revolution we have proposed. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-shall-strike-we-shall-organize-boycotts-we-shall-demonstrate-and/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“. Despite the considerable horror they had felt when the SA men were bellowing crude anti-Semitic slogans, in retrospect the joke-tellers were very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-herzog/despite-the-considerable-horror-they-had-felt-when-the-sa-men-were/) [Rudolph Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-herzog/) ## More by L. Neil Smith > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-suggest-due-process-speedy-trials-and-public-hangings/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Guns cause crime like flies cause garbage!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/guns-cause-crime-like-flies-cause-garbage/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I have a recurring daymare that when the Glorious People's SWAT Teams smash their way in, most of us - by which I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-have-a-recurring-daymare-that-when-the-glorious-people-s-swat-teams/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I'll remind you all, however, that for government, existence is a privilege, not a right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-ll-remind-you-all-however-that-for-government-existence-is-a/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I propose a Constitutional Amendment providing that, if any public official, elected or appointed, at any level of government, is caught lying to any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-propose-a-constitutional-amendment-providing-that-if-any-public/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Victim disarmament types are sick, sick people, who'd rather see a woman raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose than see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/victim-disarmament-types-are-sick-sick-people-who-d-rather-see-a/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communication, conveying the information we call 'price'. Government control of the money supply is censorship, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/money-first-and-foremost-is-a-medium-of-communication-conveying-the/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/a-libertarian-is-a-person-who-believes-that-no-one-has-the-right/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [“...occasionally I like carrying raw steel to remind myself of an important lesson. The blade's an extension of the hand, the agent--no pun intended--of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/occasionally-i-like-carrying-raw-steel-to-remind-myself-of-an/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Thanks to guys like Boss Tweed, famous for saying, 'I don't give a damn who does the voting, as long as I do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/thanks-to-guys-like-boss-tweed-famous-for-saying-i-don-t-give-a-damn/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Taxes are a barbaric remnant of ancient times in which early farmers, tied to the land, no longer able to roam freely, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/taxes-are-a-barbaric-remnant-of-ancient-times-in-which-early-farmers/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [If conservatives really believed in individual liberty, as they endlessly claim and if they used both halves of their brains then they'd be libertarians.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/if-conservatives-really-believed-in-individual-liberty-as-they/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [You cannot force me to agree with you. You can force me to act as though I agree with you but then you'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/you-cannot-force-me-to-agree-with-you-you-can-force-me-to-act-as/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) [Explore all 125 L. Neil Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) ## More Along quotes > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [Governments follow their people. A great deal has to do with the vision of the leadership of governments. They have a vision, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-khurshid/governments-follow-their-people-a-great-deal-has-to-do-with-the/) [Salman Khurshid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-khurshid/) > [I always like to look for adventure when I go away. I have gone on several horse adventures with my wife - from Guangxi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-always-like-to-look-for-adventure-when-i-go-away-i-have-gone-on/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I'd always wanted the show to be more reality based science fiction, something along the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-gerard/i-d-always-wanted-the-show-to-be-more-reality-based-science-fiction/) [Gil Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-gerard/) > [Each time I think I've created time for myself, along comes a throwback to disrupt my private space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/each-time-i-think-i-ve-created-time-for-myself-along-comes-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Along with a livable wage, many parents are desperate for quality affordable child care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gillibrand/along-with-a-livable-wage-many-parents-are-desperate-for-quality/) [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gillibrand/) > [I get along with everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-get-along-with-everybody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It would have been an interesting run if we hadn't gotten along! It was good casting, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-west/it-would-have-been-an-interesting-run-if-we-hadn-t-gotten-along-it/) [Dominic West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-west/) > [Defense spending as a share of the economy dropped significantly during the early 1990s, and that was one of the things, along with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orszag/defense-spending-as-a-share-of-the-economy-dropped-significantly/) [Peter Orszag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orszag/) > [Just remember: to be grateful and thank the people who are there and support you along the way is a great start to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-davis/just-remember-to-be-grateful-and-thank-the-people-who-are-there-and/) [Meryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-davis/) > [We feel that, with Sidney, we have a great opportunity over the next few years to put a great team on the ice. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-lemieux/we-feel-that-with-sidney-we-have-a-great-opportunity-over-the-next/) [Mario Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-lemieux/) > [“Being along with the Nature your soul is stronger than all disasters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esat-durak/being-along-with-the-nature-your-soul-is-stronger-than-all-disasters/) [Esat Durak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esat-durak/) > [When I was 16 I was fortunate enough to get Cosby and move to New York and shift my whole life. that had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-bonet/when-i-was-16-i-was-fortunate-enough-to-get-cosby-and-move-to-new/) [Lisa Bonet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-bonet/) > [For some actors, their star shines brightly and fizzles out. My star doesn't shine that brightly, but it buzzes along. Hopefully, that means it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxwell-martin/for-some-actors-their-star-shines-brightly-and-fizzles-out-my-star/) [Anna Maxwell Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxwell-martin/) > [I prefer to have one gigantic laugh preceded by several smaller laughs rather than a bunch of medium laughs all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shock/i-prefer-to-have-one-gigantic-laugh-preceded-by-several-smaller/) [Ron Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shock/) [Browse all 1,040 Along quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/along/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The main problem is that for a boycott to be effective, you must first persuade thousands - maybe even millions of others - to go along, which is a lot of work and usually not successful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "L. 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