The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Mark Twain notes that radicals create ideas which conservatives later adopt once they become mainstream.
- In plain terms
- Radicals invent ideas; conservatives later adopt them.
- What can you take from it?
- Innovative ideas often shift from fringe to establishment.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes an idea transition from radical to mainstream?
- How can societies balance innovation and tradition?
Another view
Not all ideas follow this exact trajectory.
More from Samuel Langhorne Clemens
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