"The powerful don't make revolutions"
About this Quote
Piercy’s line lands like a cold corrective to the romantic poster art of history. “The powerful don’t make revolutions” is less a slogan than a diagnostic: real upheaval doesn’t originate from people who are comfortable inside the machine. The sentence refuses the comforting myth that change is simply the product of enlightened leaders deciding to be brave. It insists on the uglier engine of revolution: necessity.
The wording matters. “The powerful” isn’t a villainous caricature; it’s a category defined by incentives. Power’s core function is preservation, and Piercy’s blunt “don’t” strips away exceptions and hero narratives. There’s an implied second clause hanging in the air: the powerful make reforms, concessions, rebrands, “updates.” They manage pressure; they don’t generate it.
Piercy, a feminist and politically engaged writer, is speaking from a late-20th-century American context where liberation movements (civil rights, antiwar, women’s liberation, labor) were repeatedly framed as being “granted” by institutions once they became morally persuaded. Her subtext is that oppressed and marginalized people are asked to wait for permission, then praised for patience when they comply. The line flips the credit: revolutions are made by those with the least to lose and the most to gain, often at real personal cost.
There’s also a warning embedded in the simplicity. If you’re waiting for the powerful to lead you to freedom, you’re not organizing; you’re auditioning for benevolence. Piercy’s sentence doesn’t flatter the reader. It recruits them.
The wording matters. “The powerful” isn’t a villainous caricature; it’s a category defined by incentives. Power’s core function is preservation, and Piercy’s blunt “don’t” strips away exceptions and hero narratives. There’s an implied second clause hanging in the air: the powerful make reforms, concessions, rebrands, “updates.” They manage pressure; they don’t generate it.
Piercy, a feminist and politically engaged writer, is speaking from a late-20th-century American context where liberation movements (civil rights, antiwar, women’s liberation, labor) were repeatedly framed as being “granted” by institutions once they became morally persuaded. Her subtext is that oppressed and marginalized people are asked to wait for permission, then praised for patience when they comply. The line flips the credit: revolutions are made by those with the least to lose and the most to gain, often at real personal cost.
There’s also a warning embedded in the simplicity. If you’re waiting for the powerful to lead you to freedom, you’re not organizing; you’re auditioning for benevolence. Piercy’s sentence doesn’t flatter the reader. It recruits them.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
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