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No revolution can ever succeed as a factor of liberation unless the MEANS used to further it be identical in spirit and tendency with the PURPOSES to be achieved. Revolution is the negation of the existing, a violent protest against man's inhumanity to man with all the thousand and one slaveries it involves. It is the destroyer of dominant values upon which a complex system of injustice, oppression, and wrong has been built up by ignorance and brutality. It is the herald of NEW VALUES, ushering in a transformation of the basic relations of man to man, and of man to society.

Emma Goldman#31

RevolutionEthicsJusticeMeans

About this quote

What does it mean?
Revolutionary methods must match the values of the future society to succeed.
In plain terms
Use peaceful means to create a peaceful society.
What can you take from it?
Align your methods with your goals.

Where it applies

  • political movements
  • social justice
  • conflict resolution

Putting it to work

  • practice what you preach
  • avoid violent tactics
  • build new values

Questions to consider

  • Can violent means ever lead to peaceful ends?
  • How do you maintain values during conflict?

Another view

Opponents often use violence, making nonviolent resistance difficult.

More from Emma Goldman

  1. The great and inspiring aims of the Revolution became so clouded with and obscured by the methods used by the ruling political power that it was hard to distin…

    Permalink to quote #30
  2. Its first ethical precept is the identity of means used and aims sought. The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of hu…

    Permalink to quote #32
  3. There is no greater fallacy than the belief that aims and purposes are one thing, while methods and tactics are another, This conception is a potent menace to …

    Permalink to quote #29

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