--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason for all revolutions is…" description: "\"The reason for all revolutions is discontent with the contentment of others.\" — Sigmund Graff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/sigmund-graff-278311_discontent_the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discon_2696181.jpg" --- # The reason for all revolutions is discontent with the… ![“The reason for all revolutions is discontent with the contentment of others.” quote by Sigmund Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/sigmund-graff-278311_discontent_the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discon_2696181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/sigmund-graff-278311_discontent_the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discon_2696181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/sigmund-graff-278311_discontent_the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discon_2696181.jpg) > “The reason for all revolutions is discontent with the contentment of others.” [Sigmund Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-graff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discontent arises when people see others satisfied while they feel unfulfilled, prompting desire for change. **In simple terms:** Unhappiness with others' contentment sparks revolt. Key Takeaway Recognize personal dissatisfaction as a catalyst for action. Themes discontent revolution social change psychology motivation Mood reflective critical motivational Type Discontent:1 Happiness:0 Revolution:1 Revolutions:1 Discontent Contentment:0 Revolutions Discontent:0 Reason Revolutions:0 When to use this quote - political activism - personal growth - community organizing Key Concepts comparative dissatisfaction social dynamics ideological conflict Questions to Reflect On - How does observing others' happiness affect your own goals? - What constructive outlets exist for discontent? A Different Perspective Not all discontent leads to constructive change; it can cause bitterness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discontent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) [Discontent Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent-contentment-1145256/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Reason Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-revolutions-2696998/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions/) [Revolutions Discontent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions-discontent-2696997/) ## Related quotes > [If you read Animal Farm, you know that humans traditionally forget the reason we have revolutions in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-read-animal-farm-you-know-that-humans-traditionally-forget-the/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [It is not our circumstances that create our discontent or contentment. It is us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-our-circumstances-that-create-our-discontent-or-contentment/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let us not be so naive as to think that revolution is just a matter of social or economic discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-marcos/let-us-not-be-so-naive-as-to-think-that-revolution-is-just-a-matter/) [Ferdinand Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-marcos/) > [“In reality, though, the first thing to ask of history is that it should point out to us the paths of liberty. The great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-reality-though-the-first-thing-to-ask-of-history-is-that-it-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think perhaps we manage our revolutions much more quietly in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-think-perhaps-we-manage-our-revolutions-much-more-quietly-in-this/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [The effect of boredom on a large scale in history is underestimated. It is a main cause of revolutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/the-effect-of-boredom-on-a-large-scale-in-history-is-underestimated/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Some socialist movements in Egypt, Tunisia and Bahrain, for instance, were genuine. I was making films about the so-called Arab Spring, and I'm well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/some-socialist-movements-in-egypt-tunisia-and-bahrain-for-instance/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [“Imagine a world where people were 10% happier and less reactive. Marriage, parenting, road rage, politics - all would be improved upon. Public health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harris/imagine-a-world-where-people-were-10-happier-and-less-reactive/) [Dan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harris/) > [There were two, three or four French Revolutions. Like a multi-stage rocket today, the Revolution involved several successive explosions and propellant thrusts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernand-braudel/there-were-two-three-or-four-french-revolutions-like-a-multi-stage/) [Fernand Braudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernand-braudel/) > [The danger to which the success of revolutions is most exposed, is that of attempting them before the principles on which they proceed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-danger-to-which-the-success-of-revolutions-is-most-exposed-is/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Conservatism is the worship of dead revolutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-rossiter/conservatism-is-the-worship-of-dead-revolutions/) [Clinton Rossiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clinton-rossiter/) > [The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like epidemics, through contamination by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-revolutions-of-thought-which-shape-the-basic-outlook-of-an-age/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Music used to cause revolutions and I'm not seeing much revolution anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/music-used-to-cause-revolutions-and-i-m-not-seeing-much-revolution/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [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/) ## More Discontent quotes > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [“She was tired of the flaming thoughts of discontent that kept her awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-gaffney/she-was-tired-of-the-flaming-thoughts-of-discontent-that-kept-her/) [Virginia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-gaffney/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [“Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jamie-chung/comparison-with-myself-brings-improvement-comparison-with-others/) [Betty Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jamie-chung/) > [I am profoundly in the D's - discouraged, depressed, disheartened, disgusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/i-am-profoundly-in-the-d-s-discouraged-depressed-disheartened/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [You can spend your whole life complaining about how much you hate life or you can spend it finding new ways to love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-complaining-about-how-much-you-hate/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I grieve and dare not show my discontent, I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, I do, yet dare not say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-grieve-and-dare-not-show-my-discontent-i-love-and-yet-am-forced-to/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Love is maintain'd by wealth: when all is spent, Adversity then breeds the discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herrick/love-is-maintain-d-by-wealth-when-all-is-spent-adversity-then-breeds/) [Robert Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herrick/) > [Everything becomes so problematic because of basic faults: from a discontent with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-freud/everything-becomes-so-problematic-because-of-basic-faults-from-a/) [Anna Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-freud/) > [“One whisper, Judith, added to a thousand others will become a roar of discontent even”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/one-whisper-judith-added-to-a-thousand-others-will-become-a-roar-of/) [Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/) [Browse all 450 Discontent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason for all revolutions is discontent with the contentment of others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sigmund Graff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-graff/the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discontent-with-the-contentment-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discontent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-graff/the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discontent-with-the-contentment-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/sigmund-graff-278311_discontent_the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discon_2696181.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/sigmund-graff-278311_discontent_the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discon_2696181.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/sigmund-graff-278311_discontent_the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discon_2696181.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The reason for all revolutions is discontent with the contentment of others.” — Sigmund Graff", "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": "Sigmund Graff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-graff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The reason for all revolutions is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-graff/the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discontent-with-the-contentment-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-graff/the-reason-for-all-revolutions-is-discontent-with-the-contentment-of/#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 } } ] } ```