the more things change, the more they stay the same
English edit
Etymology edit
English translation of French plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Proverb edit
the more things change, the more they stay the same
- Turbulent changes do not affect reality on a deeper level other than to cement the status quo.
- 1952, “Freedom and Movement—Necessities for Community Well-Being”, in Community Service News, volume 10, number 3, page 65:
- Superficial change is not movement, as is indicated by the saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
- 1994, Delwin Brown, Boundaries of Our Habitations: Tradition and Theological Construction, State University of New York Press, →ISBN, page 65:
- There must be some continuity with the past, “or else the world is a madhouse.” Hence, the more things change, the more they stay the same; the more things stay the same, the more they change.
- 2009, Thomas G. Weiss, What’s Wrong with the United Nations and How to Fix it, Polity, →ISBN, page 3:
- On the other hand, the founders would certainly find a familiar state-centric and decentralized institutional approach to problem solving that is incapable of addressing the kinds of life-threatening global challenges increasingly and routinely confronting humanity. As the saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
- A change of heart must accompany experience before lasting change occurs.