Progress and Revolution

Leland Robinson

Since the emergence of historical consciousness, men have speculated about the course of their history…the shape of the future.

The history of the world is…a continuous struggle between sense and senselessness, always waged and never fully decided.

The idea of progress in the sense of a continuous, open-ended, upward movement is a modern conception;

Everything that is perfect in one direction is harmful in another.

From time immemorial, men seem to have felt themselves as part of an enduring whole-the family, the tribe, the cosmos; and to the degree that they felt themselves as individuals, they felt dependent on superior powers.

Liberty, equality, fraternity.

It is easy to see that, whatever the content of truth may be, it cannot be the whole story. Revolutionary action is a case of human action; and action is never fully explained by impulse or action alone. A man will always have impulse, but will not always take action.

It isn’t ignorance that causes the greatest harm; it’s knowing so many things that aren’t so.

There has been a widespread tendency to disregard the role of violence in the affairs of man, and to make plans without considering the possibility of violence and the natural apprehension of its prospective victims.

The concept of force must be made central in any attempt to think clearly about human relations…

Those who wield physical power are virtually unlimited in their ability to influence the minds of people if they use this power to get control; if complete control is achieved and exercised, the minds can be inculcated with practically any desired norms.

The destiny of men and peoples is determined by two factors: ideas and physical force.

The various critics do not agree on the point at which Man-kind became derailed from its proper course.

We complain about the shoes but the trouble is with the foot.

Together there has been a continuous rise of compassion for human suffering. Throughout most of history, callousness toward the suffering of others was widespread. Men have been largely indifferent to mass misery.


Revolutions can be classified according to the degree of change they seek; according to the range of their ambitions.

The assets of scientific and technological progress as they appear at this point are plain for everyone to see. They are manifested, above all, in biological terms, as a proliferation of human life…

…this present hour of pure chaos when life and art are evidence of centuries of aimlessness.

It is nature of man to transcend nature; hence, man has since time immemorial changed his environment and disturbed the balance of nature. Yet, throughout most of his life on earth, he has done this piecemeal and very slowly.

Men perish because they cannot connect the beginning with the end.