When even the dictators of today appeal to reason, they mean that they possess the most tanks. They were rational enough to build them; others should be rational enough to yield to them.
Max HorkheimerRead
A revolutionary career does not lead to banquets and honorary titles, interesting research and professorial wages. It leads to misery, disgrace, ingratitude, prison and a voyage into the unknown, illuminated by only an almost superhuman belief.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the sacrifices and struggles that often accompany a revolutionary career.
Max Horkheimer's quote highlights the harsh realities faced by those who pursue revolutionary ideas and actions. Instead of recognition and rewards, such individuals may experience isolation, hardship, and suffering, fueled only by their strong convictions and beliefs. This speaks to the dedication required to challenge the status quo and the personal toll such endeavors may take.
Themes
RevolutionSacrificeStruggleBeliefConviction
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social change, one might say, 'As Horkheimer noted, a revolutionary career often entails great personal sacrifice.'
More from Max Horkheimer
All quotes →The complexity of the connection between the world of perception and the world of physics does not preclude that such a connection can be shown to exist at any time.
Max HorkheimerRead
Similar quotes
Certainly I'm angry at the way Indians have been treated and continue to be treated. But I don't think it's a helpless emotion.
Sherman AlexieRead
A lot of the media says, 'oh, black musician converts X-number of Klansmen.' I never converted one. But over 200 have left that, the white supremacy movements, because I have been the impetus for that.
Daryl DavisRead
She feared no danger, for she knew no sin.
John DrydenRead
Obviously, the real issue has nothing to do with fear itself, but, rather, how we hold the fear. For some, the fear is totally irrelevant. For others, it creates a state of paralysis. The former hold their fear from a position of power (choice, energy, and action), and the latter hold it from a position of pain (helplessness, depression, and paralysis).
Susan JeffersRead
I inherited depression from my mother's side of the family. Her father committed suicide. She committed suicide the year before I went to the moon.
Buzz AldrinRead
Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
Winston ChurchillRead