--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you look at history, even recent…" description: "\"If you look at history, even recent history, you see that there is indeed progress. . . . Over time, the cycle is clearly, generally upwards. And it do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/noam-chomsky-42_chipping-away_if-you-look-at-history-even-recent-histo_2522283.jpg" --- # If you look at history, even recent history, you see that… ![“If you look at history, even recent history, you see that there is indeed progress. . . . Over time, the cycle is clearly, generally upwards. And it doesn't happen by laws of nature. And it doesn't happen by social laws. . . . It happens as a result of hard work by dedicated people who are willing…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/noam-chomsky-42_chipping-away_if-you-look-at-history-even-recent-histo_2522283.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/noam-chomsky-42_chipping-away_if-you-look-at-history-even-recent-histo_2522283.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/noam-chomsky-42_chipping-away_if-you-look-at-history-even-recent-histo_2522283.jpg) > “If you look at history, even recent history, you see that there is indeed progress. . . . Over time, the cycle is clearly, generally upwards. And it doesn't happen by laws of nature. And it doesn't happen by social laws. . . . It happens as a result of hard work by dedicated people who are willing to look at problems honestly, to look at them without illusions, and to go to work chipping away at them, with no guarantee of success — in fact, with a need for a rather high tolerance for failure along the way, and plenty of disappointments.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Progress arises from diligent, honest effort and tolerance for failure, not from natural or social laws alone. **In simple terms:** Hard work and persistence drive improvement. Key Takeaway Embrace effort and resilience. Themes progress hard work failure honesty Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research - activism - community projects Key Concepts social change resilience incremental improvement Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits foster resilience? - How can societies support persistent problem‑solvers? A Different Perspective Success is not guaranteed; setbacks are common. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chipping away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chipping-away/) [Cycle Clearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cycle-clearly-1262892/) [Dedicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedicated/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Generally Upwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generally-upwards-1262893/) [Guarantees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarantees/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-progress-594851/) [History Recent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-recent-714116/) [Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honestly/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws of nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-of-nature/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Plenty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plenty/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Results of hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results-of-hard-work/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) ## Related quotes > [I really feel sorry for kids who aren't interested in history - recent history, either, because it is this that made us what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-humphries/i-really-feel-sorry-for-kids-who-aren-t-interested-in-history-recent/) [Barry Humphries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-humphries/) > [I try not to think about legacy because it is all ­folly. If you study history, even recent history, you'll find many people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-try-not-to-think-about-legacy-because-it-is-all-folly-if-you-study/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I tend to like to read history - recent history, because I find that much more intriguing than just a writer's imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-tend-to-like-to-read-history-recent-history-because-i-find-that/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [Success is the result of hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/success-is-the-result-of-hard-work/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Riches, when they come in huge quantities, are never the result of HARD work!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/riches-when-they-come-in-huge-quantities-are-never-the-result-of-hard/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [You’re adored and you’re talented and the world is waiting to see the results of hard work for the last year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/you-re-adored-and-you-re-talented-and-the-world-is-waiting-to-see-the/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [I have witnessed things the ancients would have called miracles, but they are not miracles. They are the products of someone's dream, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/i-have-witnessed-things-the-ancients-would-have-called-miracles-but/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [Is success just about winning? Acclaim? Trophies? Wealth? Our personal happiness or satisfaction? I have been blessed to experience some of these over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-osborne/is-success-just-about-winning-acclaim-trophies-wealth-our-personal/) [Tom Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-osborne/) > [People like to think the creative process is romantic. The artist drifts to sleep at night, to be awakened by the subliminal echoes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-achatz/people-like-to-think-the-creative-process-is-romantic-the-artist/) [Grant Achatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-achatz/) > [If you are one of those people who believe that hard work and honesty alone will bring riches-perish the thought; because it's not true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/if-you-are-one-of-those-people-who-believe-that-hard-work-and-honesty/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Friendship is not a gift, but is the result of hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/friendship-is-not-a-gift-but-is-the-result-of-hard-work/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-monbiot/if-wealth-was-the-inevitable-result-of-hard-work-and-enterprise-every/) [George Monbiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-monbiot/) > [A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes a lot of hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozwald-boateng/a-dream-doesn-t-become-reality-through-magic-it-takes-a-lot-of-hard/) [Ozwald Boateng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozwald-boateng/) > [Ever since about 1998, when humankind began fast-forwarding through the gradually-unfolding history of progress, like someone impatiently zipping through a YouTube clip in search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/ever-since-about-1998-when-humankind-began-fast-forwarding-through/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [“The history of progress is a history of freaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-history-of-progress-is-a-history-of-freaks/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Chipping away quotes > [Whether it's people walking off 'The View' when Bill O'Reilly makes a statement about radical Islam or Juan Williams being fired for expressing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantor/whether-it-s-people-walking-off-the-view-when-bill-o-reilly-makes-a/) [Eric Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantor/) > [Who can I marry? Where can I live? What kind of career can I achieve? These are just some of the stories breaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/who-can-i-marry-where-can-i-live-what-kind-of-career-can-i-achieve/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [I found I'm quite happy working on a sentence for an hour or more, searching for the right phrase, the right word. I compare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-doerr/i-found-i-m-quite-happy-working-on-a-sentence-for-an-hour-or-more/) [Harriet Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-doerr/) > [The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed - it is a process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-sculptor-produces-the-beautiful-statue-by-chipping-away-such/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Our biggest challenges for the ocean and for the planet are problems of perception. People need to understand that species extinctions, habitat destruction, ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-widder/our-biggest-challenges-for-the-ocean-and-for-the-planet-are-problems/) [Edith Widder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-widder/) > [All men are sculptors, constantly chipping away the unwanted parts of their lives, trying to create their idea of a masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/all-men-are-sculptors-constantly-chipping-away-the-unwanted-parts-of/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [People who are great thinkers, in science or in art, people who are great performers, have to have that kind of capacity. Without that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/people-who-are-great-thinkers-in-science-or-in-art-people-who-are/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Look, you do everything in stages, right? I don't think everything happens at once. There are so many layers we are constantly chipping away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/look-you-do-everything-in-stages-right-i-don-t-think-everything/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Oh, God. God, isn't that perfect? He's Dad. He's Dad with a layer of nerd. Solid, steady, chipping away so patiently, you don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/oh-god-god-isn-t-that-perfect-he-s-dad-he-s-dad-with-a-layer-of-nerd/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I think of writing as a sculptural medium. You are not building things. You are removing things, chipping away at language to reveal a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-think-of-writing-as-a-sculptural-medium-you-are-not-building-things/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [There's a certain pressure you put on yourself to use the comics page to full advantage that can focus your mind to a pinpoint,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-vance/there-s-a-certain-pressure-you-put-on-yourself-to-use-the-comics-page/) [James Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-vance/) > [Wild rivers are earth's renegades, defying gravity, dancing to their own tunes, resisting the authority of humans, always chipping away, and eventually always winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bangs/wild-rivers-are-earth-s-renegades-defying-gravity-dancing-to-their/) [Richard Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bangs/) > [ Towards the end of it \[working as an escort girl\] I could feel myself drifting towards a liquor habit and I had a few… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-calloway/towards-the-end-of-it-working-as-an-escort-girl-i-could-feel-myself/) [Marie Calloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-calloway/) > [So many I considered, closest to me,turned on a dime and sold me out dutifully,although that knife was chipping away at me,they turned their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/so-many-i-considered-closest-to-me-turned-on-a-dime-and-sold-me-out/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [Let me tell you something you haven’t learned yet, something you learn only by living awhile. As you get older, you find that life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/let-me-tell-you-something-you-haven-t-learned-yet-something-you-learn/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) [Browse all 30 Chipping away quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chipping-away/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you look at history, even recent history, you see that there is indeed progress. . . . Over time, the cycle is clearly, generally upwards. And it doesn't happen by laws of nature. And it doesn't happen by social laws. . . . 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