“We are in a strange period of history in which a revolutionary has to be a patriot and a patriot has to be a revolutionary.”

—  George Orwell

Letter to The Tribune (20 December 1940), later published in A Patriot After All, 1940-1941 (1999)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 30, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We are in a strange period of history in which a revolutionary has to be a patriot and a patriot has to be a revolution…" by George Orwell?
George Orwell photo
George Orwell473
English author and journalist 1903–1950

Related quotes

“Patriots are few and far between when tyranny is strong. As the tyrant falls, patriots abound. But their patriotism is suspect. Accept no revolutionary leader who has not paid his dues with longevity, determination, sacrifice, defiance, dedication to unvarnished truth and love of his people.”

David Lane (white nationalist) (1938–2007) American white supremacist, convicted felon

Revolution by Number

Nelson Mandela photo

“The ANC has never at any period of its history advocated a revolutionary change in the economic structure of the country, nor has it, to the best of my recollection, ever condemned capitalist society.”

Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) President of South Africa, anti-apartheid activist

1960s, I am Prepared to Die (1964)

Peter Kropotkin photo

“Lenin is not comparable to any revolutionary figure in history. Revolutionaries have had ideals. Lenin has none. He is a madman, an immolator, wishful of burning, and slaughter, and sacrificing.”

Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921) Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, scientist, revolutionary, economist, activist, geogr…

As quoted in Peter Kropotkin : From Prince to Rebel (1990) by George Woodcock and Ivan Avakumovic, p. 407

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe photo

“Patriotism ruins history.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German writer, artist, and politician

Conversation with Friedrich Wilhem Riemer (July, 1817)

Thomas Jefferson photo

“But inequality of representation in both Houses of our legislature, is not the only republican heresy in this first essay of our revolutionary patriots at forming a constitution. For let it be agreed that a government is republican in proportion as every member composing it has his equal voice in the direction of its concerns (not indeed in person, which would be impracticable beyond the limits of a city, or small township, but) by representatives chosen by himself, and responsible to him at short periods, and let us bring to the test of this canon every branch of our constitution.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

1810s, Letter to H. Tompkinson (AKA Samuel Kercheval) (1816)

Zeev Sternhell photo

“At the same time as Sorel, the revolutionary syndicalists in Italy came to this conclusion: they threw themselves enthusiastically into the war not out of patriotism, as is often thought, but because they saw it as an instrument of revolution. Since war is a conflict between nations rather than between classes, the nation was seen as the foremost agent of revolution, and Italian revolutionary syndicalism became the backbone of fascist ideology.”

Zeev Sternhell (1935) Israeli historian

Source: Neither Left nor Right: Fascist Ideology in France, 1996, p. 21

Emma Goldman photo

“What a strange development of patriotism that turns a thinking being into a loyal machine!”

Emma Goldman (1868–1940) anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and speeches

Vladimir Lenin photo

“History has now confronted us with an immediate task which is the most revolutionary of all the immediate tasks confronting the proletariat of any country. The fulfilment of this task, the destruction of the most powerful bulwark, not only of European, but (it may now be said) of Asiatic reaction, would make the Russian proletariat the vanguard of the international revolutionary proletariat. And we have the right to count upon acquiring this honourable title, already earned by our predecessors, the revolutionaries of the seventies, if we succeed in inspiring our movement, which is a thousand times broader and deeper, with the same devoted determination and vigour.”

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution

What is to be Done? (1902)

Robert M. La Follette Sr. photo

“Wealth has never yet sacrificed itself on the altar of patriotism.”

Robert M. La Follette Sr. (1855–1925) American politician

"La Follette Fights for Higher War Tax", New York Times http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E05E3DE123FE433A25751C2A96E9C946696D6CF (August 22, 1917)

William Beveridge photo

“A revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.”

William Beveridge Beveridge Report

Pt. 1, 7
Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942)
Context: Any proposals for the future, while they should use to the full the experience gathered in the past, should not be restricted by consideration of sectional interests established in the obtaining of that experience. Now, when the war is abolishing landmarks of every kind, is the opportunity for using experience in a clear field. A revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.

Related topics