the more things change, the more they stay the same
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English
Etymology
English translation of French plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Proverb
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.