--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: La revolución es progresista y busca el…" description: "\"“La revolución es progresista y busca el robustecimiento del estado; la rebelión es reaccionaria y busca su desvanecimiento. El revolucionario es un fu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_revolution_la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el_1368833.jpg" --- # La revolución es progresista y busca el robustecimiento… ![“La revolución es progresista y busca el robustecimiento del estado; la rebelión es reaccionaria y busca su desvanecimiento. El revolucionario es un funcionario en potencia; el rebelde es un reaccionario en acto. (Revolution is progressive and seeks the strengthening of the state; rebellion is…” quote by Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_revolution_la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el_1368833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_revolution_la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el_1368833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_revolution_la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el_1368833.jpg) > ““La revolución es progresista y busca el robustecimiento del estado; la rebelión es reaccionaria y busca su desvanecimiento. El revolucionario es un funcionario en potencia; el rebelde es un reaccionario en acto. (Revolution is progressive and seeks the strengthening of the state; rebellion is reactionary and seeks its disappearance. The revolutionary is a potential government official; the rebel is a reactionary in action.)”” [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts revolution, which aims to build and reinforce state structures, with rebellion, which seeks to dismantle them, and suggests that revolutionaries become future officials while rebels remain oppositional. **In simple terms:** Revolution builds state; rebellion tears it down. Key Takeaway Recognize the long‑term goals behind political actions. Themes politics power ideology revolution rebellion Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - government reform - social movements - activism - policy analysis Key Concepts statecraft authority change management Questions to Reflect On - What incentives drive a revolutionary to become a bureaucrat? - How can rebellion be constructive rather than destructive? A Different Perspective Revolution can become oppressive if it consolidates power without accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) ## Related quotes > [“Revolution is progressivist and seeks the strengthening of the state; rebellion is reactionary and seeks its disappearance. The revolutionary is a potential government official;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/revolution-is-progressivist-and-seeks-the-strengthening-of-the-state/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Spring is the only revolutionary whose revolution has succeeded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-van-hirtum/spring-is-the-only-revolutionary-whose-revolution-has-succeeded/) Marianne van Hirtum > [We have the right of revolution. Revolution does not always have to be weapons and warfare; it's also about revolutionary ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-have-the-right-of-revolution-revolution-does-not-always-have-to-be/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Skepticism cannot be revolutionary, even though it speaks the language of revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-aron/skepticism-cannot-be-revolutionary-even-though-it-speaks-the-language/) [Raymond Aron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-aron/) > [Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively. Prospectively, the revolutionaries tend to look like crazy people, and sometimes they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-retrospectively-prospectively/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-singh/merciless-criticism-and-independent-thinking-are-the-two-necessary/) [Bhagat Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagat-singh/) > [Normal life cannot sustain revolutionary attitudes for long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-life-cannot-sustain-revolutionary-attitudes-for-long/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What shall we call an "immediate possibility"? In 1923 the situation in Germany was profoundly revolutionary, but what was lacking for a victorious revolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/what-shall-we-call-an-immediate-possibility-in-1923-the-situation-in/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [“Revolution is the harmony of form and color and everything exists, and moves, under only one law: Life. Nobody is separate by anybody else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-khalo/revolution-is-the-harmony-of-form-and-color-and-everything-exists-and/) Frida Khalo > [But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/but-what-do-we-mean-by-the-american-revolution-do-we-mean-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“You said yourself that the people of Luna need a revolutionary.” She lifted her chin, holding his gaze. “So I’m going to Luna, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/you-said-yourself-that-the-people-of-luna-need-a-revolutionary-she/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) ## More by Nicolás Gómez Dávila > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Modern man’s misfortune lies not in having to live a mediocre life, but in believing that he could live one that is not mediocre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/modern-man-s-misfortune-lies-not-in-having-to-live-a-mediocre-life/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The liberation promised by every invention ends with the growing submission of the man who adopts it to the man who manufactures it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-liberation-promised-by-every-invention-ends-with-the-growing/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Revolution is progressivist and seeks the strengthening of the state; rebellion is reactionary and seeks its disappearance. The revolutionary is a potential government official;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/revolution-is-progressivist-and-seeks-the-strengthening-of-the-state/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Rather than humanizing technology, modern man prefers to technify man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/rather-than-humanizing-technology-modern-man-prefers-to-technify-man/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“As they cannot be defined univocally, nor irrefutably demonstrated, so-called “human rights” serve as a pretext for the individual who rebels against a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/as-they-cannot-be-defined-univocally-nor-irrefutably-demonstrated-so/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The most ominous of modern perversions is the shame of appearing naïve if we do not flirt with evil. (La más ominosa de las…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-most-ominous-of-modern-perversions-is-the-shame-of-appearing-na/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“When nothing in society deserves respect, we should fashion for ourselves in solitude new silent loyalties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/when-nothing-in-society-deserves-respect-we-should-fashion-for/) [Nicólas Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Truths are not relative. What is relative are opinions about truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/truths-are-not-relative-what-is-relative-are-opinions-about-truth/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Every individual with “ideals” is a potential murderer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/every-individual-with-ideals-is-a-potential-murderer/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/hierarchies-are-celestial-in-hell-all-are-equal/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Faith is not knowledge of an object but communion with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/faith-is-not-knowledge-of-an-object-but-communion-with-it/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“An atheist is respectable as long as he does not teach that the dignity of man is the basis of ethics and that love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/an-atheist-is-respectable-as-long-as-he-does-not-teach-that-the/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [The genuine coherence of our ideas does not come from the reasoning that ties them together, but from the spiritual impulse that gives rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-genuine-coherence-of-our-ideas-does-not-come-from-the-reasoning/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Progress ages badly. Each generation brings a new model of progressivism which discards with contempt the previous model. Nothing is more grotesque than yesterday’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/progress-ages-badly-each-generation-brings-a-new-model-of/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) [Explore all 67 Nicolás Gómez Dávila quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) ## More Revolution quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Subsequent to the original Quicken, the whole idea that we, as a consumer products company, could actually make business products, that was a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/subsequent-to-the-original-quicken-the-whole-idea-that-we-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [I'm not in the business of bayoneting the wounded. I feel the blockchain revolution is kind of my victory. I don't care whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-m-byrne/i-m-not-in-the-business-of-bayoneting-the-wounded-i-feel-the/) [Patrick M. Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-m-byrne/) > [Oppression that is clearly inexorable and invincible does not give rise to revolt but to submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/oppression-that-is-clearly-inexorable-and-invincible-does-not-give/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Patriotism is a fierce love for the nation’s soul - its land, its people, its core, coupled with a burning contempt for a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/njau-kihia/patriotism-is-a-fierce-love-for-the-nation-s-soul-its-land-its-people/) Njau Kihia > [“As morally troubling and politically charged as the issue of inequality has become, it's not likely to cause a populist revolt. Most Americans still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/as-morally-troubling-and-politically-charged-as-the-issue-of/) [Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/) > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The plight of the Baha'i community in Iran has served as a backdrop to my life growing up in London, particularly since the Islamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/the-plight-of-the-baha-i-community-in-iran-has-served-as-a-backdrop/) [Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The mind of a child is where the Revolution begins,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/the-mind-of-a-child-is-where-the-revolution-begins/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [History respects revolutions; and yet, if a revolution is progressive, support it; if it is reactionary, resist it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/history-respects-revolutions-and-yet-if-a-revolution-is-progressive/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) Hugh Williamson [Browse all 6,280 Revolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“La revolución es progresista y busca el robustecimiento del estado; la rebelión es reaccionaria y busca su desvanecimiento. El revolucionario es un funcionario en potencia; el rebelde es un reaccionario en acto. (Revolution is progressive and seeks the strengthening of the state; rebellion is reactionary and seeks its disappearance. The revolutionary is a potential government official; the rebel is a reactionary in action.)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicolás Gómez Dávila" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el-robustecimiento-del-estado-la/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Revolution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el-robustecimiento-del-estado-la/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_revolution_la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el_1368833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_revolution_la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el_1368833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/nicolas-gomez-davila-9640_revolution_la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el_1368833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“La revolución es progresista y busca el robustecimiento del estado; la rebelión es reaccionaria y busca su…” — Nicolás Gómez Dávila", "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": "Nicolás Gómez Dávila", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“La revolución es progresista y busca...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el-robustecimiento-del-estado-la/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/la-revoluci-n-es-progresista-y-busca-el-robustecimiento-del-estado-la/#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 } } ] } ```