The successful revolutionary is a statesman, the unsuccessful one a criminal.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- History judges revolutionaries as either statesmen if they succeed or criminals if they fail.
- In plain terms
- Success decides if a revolutionary is seen as a hero or a criminal.
- What can you take from it?
- History judges people by results not intentions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does success change your view of history?
- Is the end justifying the means?
Another view
Moral worth should not depend on success.
More from Erich Fromm
Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.
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Permalink to quote #14 Man's biological weakness is the condition of human culture.
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