--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You keep plugging away--that's the way…" description: "\"You keep plugging away--that's the way social change takes place. That's the way every social change in history has taken place: by a lot of people, wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/noam-chomsky-42_change_you-keep-plugging-away-that-s-the-way-so_2570723.jpg" --- # You keep plugging away--that's the way social change takes… ![“You keep plugging away--that's the way social change takes place. That's the way every social change in history has taken place: by a lot of people, who nobody ever heard of, doing work.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/noam-chomsky-42_change_you-keep-plugging-away-that-s-the-way-so_2570723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/noam-chomsky-42_change_you-keep-plugging-away-that-s-the-way-so_2570723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/noam-chomsky-42_change_you-keep-plugging-away-that-s-the-way-so_2570723.jpg) > “You keep plugging away--that's the way social change takes place. That's the way every social change in history has taken place: by a lot of people, who nobody ever heard of, doing work.” [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. Social change results from collective effort of ordinary people, not famous individuals **In simple terms:** Change driven by many unseen contributors Key Takeaway Value collective grassroots action Themes activism collectivity history Mood inspirational determined Type political social When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - historical analysis - volunteer coordination Key Concepts social movements grassroots organization Questions to Reflect On - How to mobilize unnoticed contributors? - What structures support sustained collective action? A Different Perspective Individual leadership can also catalyze change ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Takes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-takes-464892/) [Changes in history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changes-in-history-29804/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Plugging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plugging-1475493/) [Plugging Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plugging-away-937362/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-change/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [You never know when the break is going to come, so you have to keep plugging away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinder-mahal/you-never-know-when-the-break-is-going-to-come-so-you-have-to-keep/) [Jinder Mahal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jinder-mahal/) > [You just have to keep plugging away and if you get lucky enough to get a job, you get one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-vartan/you-just-have-to-keep-plugging-away-and-if-you-get-lucky-enough-to/) [Michael Vartan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-vartan/) > [I just kind of keep doing what I'm doing, keep plugging away, kind of hide behind closed doors sometimes, which is nice, kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-koepka/i-just-kind-of-keep-doing-what-i-m-doing-keep-plugging-away-kind-of/) [Brooks Koepka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-koepka/) > [You have to keep plugging away. We are all growing. There is no shortcut. You have to put time into it to build an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gruber/you-have-to-keep-plugging-away-we-are-all-growing-there-is-no/) [John Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gruber/) > [Education is and will be the most powerful tool for individual and social change, and we must do all that it takes to facilitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-nadar/education-is-and-will-be-the-most-powerful-tool-for-individual-and/) [Shiv Nadar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-nadar/) > [The greatest changes in history have come when people were able to shake off what others told them to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/the-greatest-changes-in-history-have-come-when-people-were-able-to/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Is it really so terrible being around us?" I blushed. "No," I said. "But . . . it's complicated. I've been taught certain things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/is-it-really-so-terrible-being-around-us-i-blushed-no-i-said-but-it-s/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [The introduction of the Christian religion into the world has produced an incalculable change in history. There had previously been only a history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-henri-merle-d-aubigne/the-introduction-of-the-christian-religion-into-the-world-has/) [Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-henri-merle-d-aubigne/) > [Regarding the children in Israel who made the first known world change in history using the Bible Code, they left a statement which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drunvalo-melchizedek/regarding-the-children-in-israel-who-made-the-first-known-world/) [Drunvalo Melchizedek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drunvalo-melchizedek/) > [Conformity may give you a quiet life; it may even bring you to a University Chair. But all change in history, all advance, comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/conformity-may-give-you-a-quiet-life-it-may-even-bring-you-to-a/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [What you learn after you're 40 is it's just about plugging up holes in the boat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/what-you-learn-after-you-re-40-is-it-s-just-about-plugging-up-holes/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [I'm developing a mild rash at the idea of "plugging" anything, because it's not how I roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-m-developing-a-mild-rash-at-the-idea-of-plugging-anything-because/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Optimists are usually wrong. But all the great change in history, positive change, was done by optimists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/optimists-are-usually-wrong-but-all-the-great-change-in-history/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [No real change in history has ever been achieved by discussions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-real-change-in-history-has-ever-been-achieved-by-discussions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you read the life of great men and women who made important changes in history, there are two common features: One, they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leymah-gbowee/if-you-read-the-life-of-great-men-and-women-who-made-important/) [Leymah Gbowee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leymah-gbowee/) ## 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 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You keep plugging away--that's the way social change takes place. 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