Charlotte Perkins Gilman

"The time spent in working for the public good is the best time in life."

"A woman should be as free as a man to pursue her own development and happiness."

"The human race cannot be elevated through the debasement of half of it."

"We are as yet in the childhood of human development."

"The spirit of human progress lies in constant advancement and never looking backward."

"What does the future hold? Nothing but what we make it hold."

"Every human being has the right to have his rightful share of the benefits of civilization."

"The power of thought is real; it shapes what we do and what we become."

"We must not fail to appreciate the tremendous progress that has been made in human relations."

"The individual's relation to society is his most important relationship."

"A person who is not conscious of the demands society places upon them is not fully human."

"The root of all true religion is love—pure, simple, human love."

"To advance in life one must always be willing to learn from those around them."

"The measure of a person is not what they have but what they have given."

"We cannot ignore the historical forces that have shaped our present condition."

"Art is the expression of the soul of society—it cannot lie."

"The human being's greatest strength is the ability to work together for a common purpose."

"Truth needs no defense—it defends itself through its own power."

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams—and work to make them real."

"We should not ask whether we can do something, but whether we should do it."

"The happiness of humanity is not found in the accumulation of things but in the development of character."

"A society that does not educate all of its people equally cannot claim to be civilized."

"The greatest revolution would be the recognition that women are fully human and fully equal."

"We inherit not just genes but the accumulated wisdom of all human experience."

"To love humanity is to work for its improvement—anything else is sentimentality."

"The right to work is the right to live with dignity."

"Progress is not inevitable; it requires constant vigilance and effort from every generation."

"We are responsible not just for ourselves but for the condition of our society."

"The human spirit cannot be broken as long as it maintains faith in the possibility of improvement."

"To understand society one must understand the economic relations upon which it rests."