“It is the reformer who is anxious for the reform, and not society, from which he should expect nothing better than opposition, abhorrence, and even mortal prosecution.”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Navjivan, 1925-29).
About this quote
Anyone driven to fix something soon learns the appetite for it is theirs, not the group's. People are comfortable, and a reformer threatens that comfort, so opposition and even hostility become the normal price. Steadiness comes from expecting it instead of feeling wronged by it.
When to use it
- An activist who keeps petitioning after neighbors call her a nuisance, until the rule finally changes.
- A coach who overhauls a losing team's routine and rides out the grumbling before it pays off.
- A whistle-blower who reports fraud knowing colleagues will resent him for breaking the quiet.