Quotessence
Home / Authors / Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn Quotes

Historian

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleWarIfsWorldWayGovernmentCountryThinkingHumansJusticeStatesShouldHas BeensPoliticalDemocracyImportantUnitedMeanUnited StatesKnows

Famous Howard Zinn Quotes

“If we have learned anything in the past ten years, it is that these lovely things about America were never lovely. We have been expansionist and aggressive and mean to other people from the beginning. And we've been aggressive and mean to people in this country, and we've allocated the wealth of this country in a very unjust way. We've never had justice in our courts for the poor people, for black people, for radicals. Now how can we boast that America is a very special place? It's not that special. It really isn't.”

PeopleIfsWayYearsMeanHas BeensCountryAmericaPastBlackWealthJusticePoorSpecialTenCourtLovelyRadicalAggressiveBlack PeopleUnjustPoor PeopleBoastSpecial PlacesLovely Things
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“I am convinced that imprisonment is a way of pretending to solve the problem of crime. It does nothing for the victims of crime, but perpetuates the idea of retribution, thus maintaining the endless cycle of violence in our culture. It is a cruel and useless substitute for the elimination of those conditions--poverty, unemployment, homelessness, desperation, racism, greed--which are at the root of most punished crime. The crimes of the rich and powerful go mostly unpunished.”

WayDoeIdeasProblemCulturePowerfulPovertyRichViolenceConditionsCrimeRacismRootsVictimGreedSolveConvincedEndlessUselessCyclesSubstitutesPretendingUnemploymentDesperationMaintainingHomelessnessRetributionImprisonmentEliminationCycle Of Violence
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“Indeed, it is impossible to be neutral. In a world already moving in certain directions, where wealth and power are already distributed in certain ways, neutrality means accepting the way things are now. It is a world of clashing interests – war against peace, nationalism against internationalism, equality against greed, and democracy against elitism – and it seems to me both impossible and undesirable to be neutral in those conflicts.”

WorldWayMeanWarSeemsMovingCertainInterestWealthAcceptingDemocracyImpossibleConflictGreedNationalismNeutralityMoving InElitismUndesirableInternationalism
Book:Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice
Create image

“I came to the conclusion that war was an unacceptable way of solving whatever problems there were in the world--that there would be problems of tyranny, of injustice, of nations crossing frontiers and that injustice and tyranny should not be tolerated and should be fought and resisted, but the one thing that must not be used to solve that problem is war. Because war is inevitably the indiscriminate killing of large numbers of people. And that fact overwhelms whatever moral cause is somewhere buried in the history of that war.”

PeopleWorldWayShouldWarFactsProblemWould BeUsedNationsCausesNumbersMoralOne ThingKillingInjusticeSolveTyrannyConclusionBuriedFrontiersCrossingsLarge Numbers
Book:Howard Zinn Speaks: Collected Speeches 1963-2009
Create image

“I believe there are huge numbers of people in this country who would be willing to have radical changes in our economic and social system in order to make it a more egalitarian society and do away with homelessness and hunger and clean up the environment. But these people have no voice. They have no way of expressing themselves. Elections give them no way of expressing themselves.”

PeopleWayGivingBelieveCountryWould BeOrderI BelieveSocialVoiceNumbersEnvironmentEconomicWillingHugeElectionCleanHungerRadicalHomelessnessSocial SystemsRadical ChangeHuge Numbers
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“I start from the supposition that the world is topsyturvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail and the wrong people are out of jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, that the wealth is distributed in this country and the world in such a way as not simply to require small reform but to require a drastic reallocation of wealth. I start from the supposition that we don't have to say too much about this because all we have to do is think about the state of the world today and realize that things are all upside down.”

PeopleThinkingWorldWayCountryStatesTodayRealizingWealthToo MuchReformJailWorld TodayUpside DownDrasticSupposition
Book:The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
Create image

“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of "the proper channels," a way of breaking through passages blocked by tradition and prejudice. It is disruptive and troublesome, but it is a necessary disruption, a healthy troublesome.”

WayLawDemocracyHealthyEssentialsTraditionPrejudiceProtestPassagesDepartureDisruptionTroublesomeBlockedDisruptive
Book:The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
Create image

“Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe you have been around, maybe you have lived, maybe you have thought, maybe you have been hit--at how the daily rounds of injustice make their way through this marvelous thing that we call "due process.”

WayHas BeensHappensWould BeProcessStudyCourtRoundsInjusticeDuesMarvelousBostonMassachusettsDue ProcessAstoundedMarvelous Things
Book:The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
Create image

“The white population could not possibly be unaffected by those events - some whites more stubborn in their defense of segregation, but others beginning to think in different ways. And the black population was transformed, having risen up in mass action for the first time, feeling its power, knowing now that if the old order could be shaken it could be toppled.”

IfsThinkingWayFirstsDifferentFeelingsActionOrderBlackWhiteKnowingEventsMassFirst TimePopulationDefenseDifferent WaysTransformedStubbornSegregationRisen
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“One percent of the nation owns a third of the wealth. The rest of the wealth is distributed in such a way as to turn those in the 99 percent against one another: small property owners against the propertyless, black against white, native-born against foreign-born, intellectuals and professionals against the uneducated and the unskilled. These groups have resented one another and warred against one another with such vehemence and violence as to obscure their common position as sharers of leftovers in a very wealthy country.”

WayCountryTurnsNationsBlackBornWealthWhiteCommonViolenceGroupsPositionPercentThirdsPropertyNativeOwnersWealthyObscureUneducatedLeftoversVehemenceEducated And Uneducated
Book:A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
Create image

“I think a way to behave is to think not in terms of representative government, not in terms of voting, not in terms of electoral politics, but thinking in terms of organizing social movements, organizing in the work place, organizing in the neighborhood, organizing collectives that can become strong enough to eventually take over - first to become strong enough to resist what has been done to them by authority, and second, later, to become strong enough to actually take over the institutions.”

ThinkingWayFirstsHas BeensDoneEnoughGovernmentStrongSocialTermMovementAuthorityInstitutionsBehaveVotingCollectivesNeighborhoodRepresentativesStrong EnoughSocial MovementsWork PlaceRepresentative Government
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“We cannot create blueprint for future society, but it is good to think about that. It is good to have in mind a goal. It is constructive, it is helpful, it is healthy, to think about what future society might be like, because then it guides you somewhat what you are doing today, but only so long as this discussions about future society don't become obstacles to working towards this future society. Otherwise you can spend discussing this utopian possibility versus that utopian possibility, and in the mean time you are not acting in a way that would bring you closer to that.”

ThinkingWayMindMeanLongMightTodayGoalActingPossibilityHealthyObstaclesGuidesDiscussionHelpfulVersusConstructiveDiscussingUtopianBlueprintsFuture Society
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“We need to organize ourselves and protest against existing order - against war, against economic and sexual exploitation, against racism, etc. But to organize ourselves in such a way that means correspond to the ends, and to organize ourselves in such a way as to create kind of human relationship that should exist in future society. That would mean to organize ourselves without centralize authority, without charismatic leader, in a way that represents in miniature the ideal of the future egalitarian society.”

WayNeedsShouldHumansKindMeanWarEndsOrderLeaderEconomicAuthorityRacismIdealsEtcProtestExploitationOrganizeHuman RelationsHuman RelationshipsCharismaticMiniaturesAgainst WarAgainst RacismFuture Society
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“The democratic principle, enunciated in the words of the Declaration of Independence, declared that government was secondary, that the people who established it were primary. Thus, the future of democracy depended on the people, and their growing consciousness of what was the decent way to relate to their fellow human beings all over the world.”

PeopleWorldWayHumansGovernmentHuman BeingsConsciousnessPrinciplesDemocracyGrowingFellowsIndependenceDemocraticPrimariesRelateDecentDeclarationDeclaration Of Independence
Book:A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
Create image

“The inferior position of blacks, the exclusion of Indians from the new society, the establishment of supremacy for the rich and powerful in the new nation--all this was already settled in the colonies by the time of the Revolution. With the English out of the way, it could now be put on paper, solidified, regularized, made legitimate by the Constitution of the United States.”

WayMadeStatesNationsUnitedPowerfulUnited StatesRichPositionRevolutionPaperConstitutionIndianEstablishmentInferiorsColonyExclusionSupremacyConstitution Of The United States
Book:A People's History of the United States
Create image

“The power of a bold idea uttered publicly in defiance of dominant opinion cannot be easily measured. Those special people who speak out in such a way as to shake up not only the self-assurance of their enemies, but the complacency of their friends, are precious catalysts for change.”

PeopleWayIdeasSelfSpeakOpinionEnemySpecialShakesDominantAssuranceComplacencyDefianceCatalystSpeaks OutSelf AssuranceSpecial PeopleCatalyst For Change
Book:You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times
Create image

“That chain of relationships made me think of how connections are made--you read a book, you meet a person, you have a single experience, and your life is changed in some way. No act, therefore, however small, should be dismissed or ignored.”

ThinkingWayShouldPersonsMadeBookLife IsChangedConnectionsChainsIgnored
Book:You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times
Create image

“I have come to believe that our lives can be turned in a different direction, our minds adopt a different way of thinking, by some significant, though small event. That belief can be frightening, or exhilarating, depending on whether you just contemplate it or do something with it.”

ThinkingWayMindBelieveDifferentBeliefJusticeOur LivesEventsDiversitySocial JusticeSignificantDifferent WaysContemplatingFrighteningWay Of ThinkingExhilaratingDifferent DirectionsSmall Events
Book:You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times
Create image

“Is not nationalism - that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder - one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred? These ways of thinking - cultivated, nurtured, indoctrinated from childhood on - have been useful to those in power, and deadly for those out of power.”

ThinkingWayHas BeensEvilReligiousChildhoodMassRacismHatredMurderBoundariesDevotionOur TimeNationalismFlagsFierceWay Of ThinkingAnthemReligious Hatred
Book:A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Create image

“Objectivity is impossible and it is also undesirable. That is, if it were possible it would be undesirable, because if you have any kind of a social aim, if you think history should serve society in some way; should serve the progress of the human race; should serve justice in some way, then it requires that you make your selection on the basis of what you think will advance causes of humanity.”

IfsThinkingWayShouldHumansKindWould BeHumanitySocialCausesJusticeRaceProgressImpossibleBasesAimHuman RaceSelectionObjectivityUndesirable
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“Whenever I become discouraged (which is on alternate Tuesdays, between three and four) I lift my spirits by remembering: The artists are on our side! I mean those poets and painters, singers and musicians, novelists and playwrights who speak to the world in a way that is impervious to assault because they wage the battle for justice in a sphere which is unreachable by the dullness of ordinary political discourse.”

WorldWayMeanRememberPoliticalSpiritArtistThreeSpeakSidesJusticeFourPoetBattleMusicianOrdinarySingersPainterLiftsNovelistsSpheresDiscourseAssaultDiscouragedPlaywrightTuesdayDullnessImperviousPolitical DiscourseUnreachable
Book:The Historic Unfulfilled Promise
Create image

“Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factorites, whose lives are filled qith cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. And so, the schools, the churches, the popular literature taught that to be rich was a sign of superiority, to be poor a sign of personal failure, and that the only way upward for a poor person was to climb into the ranks of the rich by extraordinary effort and extraordinary luck.”

WayPersonsSchoolLawLiteratureForceCausesChurchPoorEffortCitiesRichModernTaughtLuckFilledExtraordinaryPopulationClimbsRebellionSuperiorityModern TimesPersonal FailurePopular Literature
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“To be hopeful in bad times is based on the fact that human history is not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWayGivingShouldHumansFactsPastRememberHopeEnergyWaitingHuman BeingsCompassionKindnessHistorySacrificeWorstGreatnessVictoryFutureCapacityInfiniteCrueltyHopefulGood TimesOur FutureMarvelousHuman BehaviorHuman HistoryMy FutureSuccessionDefianceBad TimesUtopianPast Present FutureHope For The FutureBright FutureGreat InspirationalHopeful Future
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image

“War is by definition the indiscriminate killing of huge numbers of people for ends that are uncertain. Think about means and ends, and apply it to war. The means are horrible, certainly. The ends, uncertain. That alone should make you hesitate. . . . We are smart in so many ways. Surely, we should be able to understand that in between war and passivity, there are a thousand possibilities.”

PeopleThinkingWayShouldMeanWarEndsAbleNumbersPossibilityHugeThousandSmartKillingDefinitionsHorribleUncertainPassivityHuge Numbers
Author:Howard Zinn
Create image