Emma Goldman, born on June 27, 1869, in Kovno, Russian Empire (now Lithuania), was a prominent anarchist activist, feminist, and writer. Her relentless pursuit of social justice, advocacy for women’s rights, and opposition to oppressive systems made her a leading figure in the early 20th-century radical movement.
Goldman’s formative years were marked by the turmoil of the late 19th century, witnessing the rise of industrial capitalism and widespread social inequality. Her family emigrated to the United States, where she became involved in labor activism and anarchist circles. Goldman’s experiences witnessing the harsh conditions faced by workers ignited her passion for social justice and inspired her lifelong activism.
As an anarchist, Goldman fiercely opposed the concentration of power in both the state and capitalism. She advocated for the abolition of oppressive institutions and the establishment of a society based on voluntary cooperation and individual freedom. Through her speeches and writings, including the influential “Anarchism and Other Essays,” Goldman critiqued the oppressive nature of government and the exploitative dynamics of capitalism.
Goldman was also an ardent feminist, advocating for women’s autonomy, reproductive rights, and economic independence. Her bold and controversial stance on sexuality and birth control challenged societal norms of the time. Goldman’s influential writings on gender and sexuality, such as “The Traffic in Women,” contributed to the feminist discourse and paved the way for future generations of activists.
Goldman was a staunch defender of free speech and civil liberties. Her passionate support for the rights of political dissidents and marginalized voices led to her own frequent encounters with censorship and imprisonment. Despite facing numerous challenges and being targeted by the government for her radical views, Goldman remained steadfast in her commitment to fighting for individual liberties.
Emma Goldman’s influence on the anarchist and feminist movements cannot be overstated. Her tireless advocacy for social justice, individual freedom, and women’s rights paved the way for future generations of activists and revolutionaries. Goldman’s unwavering commitment to challenging oppressive systems and her belief in the power of collective action continue to inspire those striving for a more just and equitable world.
While her ideas and actions were controversial in her time, Goldman’s legacy has endured. Her writings and speeches, brimming with passion and critical analysis, continue to be studied and referenced by scholars and activists alike. Emma Goldman’s unyielding dedication to fighting for social change and her refusal to accept the status quo make her an enduring icon of anarchism, feminism, and radical activism.
Since every effort in our educational life seems to be directed toward making of the child a being foreign to itself, it must of necessity produce individuals foreign to one another, and in everlasting antagonism with each other.
Emma Goldman
To the indefinite, uncertain mind of the American radical the most contradictory ideas and methods are possible. The result is a sad chaos in the radical movement, a sort of intellectual hash, which has neither taste nor character.
Emma Goldman
There is no hope even that woman, with her right to vote, will ever purify politics.
Emma Goldman
The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and well-being.
Emma Goldman
The State is the altar of political freedom and, like the religious altar, it is maintained for the purpose of human sacrifice.
Emma Goldman
The political arena leaves one no alternative, one must either be a dunce or a rogue.
Emma Goldman
The motto should not be: Forgive one another; rather understand one another.
Emma Goldman
The most violent element in society is ignorance.
Emma Goldman
The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.
Emma Goldman
The individual whose vision encompasses the whole world often feels nowhere so hedged in and out of touch with his surroundings as in his native land.
Emma Goldman
The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man’s right to his body, or woman’s right to her soul.
Emma Goldman
The higher mental development of woman, the less possible it is for her to meet a congenial male who will see in her, not only sex, but also the human being, the friend, the comrade and strong individuality, who cannot and ought not lose a single trait of her character.
Emma Goldman
When we can’t dream any longer we die.
Emma Goldman
Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.
Emma Goldman
Woman, essentially a purist, is naturally bigoted and relentless in her effort to make others as good as she thinks they ought to be.
Emma Goldman
Puritanism, in whatever expression, is a poisonous germ. On the surface everything may look strong and vigorous; yet the poison works its way persistently, until the entire fabric is doomed.
Emma Goldman
Prostitution, although hounded, imprisoned, and chained, is nevertheless the greatest triumph of Puritanism.
Emma Goldman
Politics is the reflex of the business and industrial world.
Emma Goldman
Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested – for a while at least. The people are a very fickle baby that must have new toys every day.
Emma Goldman
One cannot be too extreme in dealing with social ills; the extreme thing is generally the true thing.
Emma Goldman
On rare occasions one does hear of a miraculous case of a married couple falling in love after marriage, but on close examination it will be found that it is a mere adjustment to the inevitable.
Emma Goldman
No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution… revolution is but thought carried into action.
Emma Goldman
No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.
Emma Goldman
No great idea in its beginning can ever be within the law. How can it be within the law? The law is stationary. The law is fixed. The law is a chariot wheel which binds us all regardless of conditions or place or time.
Emma Goldman
Morality and its victim, the mother – what a terrible picture! Is there indeed anything more terrible, more criminal, than our glorified sacred function of motherhood?
Emma Goldman
Merely external emancipation has made of the modern woman an artificial being. Now, woman is confronted with the necessity of emancipating herself from emancipation, if she really desires to be free.
Emma Goldman
The demand for equal rights in every vocation of life is just and fair; but, after all, the most vital right is the right to love and be loved.
Emma Goldman
Heaven must be an awfully dull place if the poor in spirit live there.
Emma Goldman
All claims of education notwithstanding, the pupil will accept only that which his mind craves.
Emma Goldman
Anarchism is the great liberator of man from the phantoms that have held him captive; it is the arbiter and pacifier of the two forces for individual and social harmony.
Emma Goldman
Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.
Emma Goldman
Crime is naught but misdirected energy.
Emma Goldman
Direct action is the logical, consistent method of Anarchism.
Emma Goldman
To the moralist prostitution does not consist so much in the fact that the woman sells her body, but rather that she sells it out of wedlock.
Emma Goldman
Free love? as if love is anything but free. Man has bought brains, but all the millions in the world have failed to buy love.
Emma Goldman
I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.
Emma Goldman
Idealists are foolish enough to throw caution to the winds. They have advanced mankind and have enriched the world.
Emma Goldman
Idealists foolish enough to throw caution to the winds have advanced mankind and have enriched the world.
Emma Goldman
Women need not always keep their mouths shut and their wombs open.
Emma Goldman
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.
Emma Goldman
If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.
Emma Goldman
Every daring attempt to make a great change in existing conditions, every lofty vision of new possibilities for the human race, has been labeled Utopian.
Emma Goldman
In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.
Emma Goldman
It is essential that we realize once and for all that man is much more of a sex creature than a moral creature. The former is inherent, the other is grafted on.
Emma Goldman
If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.
Emma Goldman
