Slight content warning: mention of the word “naked”
“To say: I ‘appreciate’ your political, approach, ‘but’ it is only a political one and we ‘also need an economic one’, is tantamount to saying: I ‘appreciate’ your point that in taking that particular step you are liable to break your neck, but you must also take into consideration that it is better to be clothed and well-fed than to go naked and hungry.” - Lenin, Once Again On The Trade Unions, The Current Situation and the Mistakes of Trotsky and Buhkarin (https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1921/jan/25.htm)
the full quote is actually “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.”
i am a true true fan of how he even adds the self-effacing ‘at the risk of seeming ridiculous’. people are always sheepish to actually speak from the heart, and the fact that he’s saying something most people perceive as sappy really makes it like doubly adorable / admirable. now, i am also a big fan of the mao quote, but i do think love is generally just a healthier practice for your own sanity