No great movement designed to change the world can bear to be laughed at or belittled. Mockery is a rust that corrodes all it touches.

The remark links political or ideological “great movements” to a demand for seriousness: they depend on reverence, unity, and a shared sense of purpose. Laughter and belittlement puncture that aura by exposing pretension, contradiction, or human frailty—often more effectively than direct argument. Calling mockery “rust” suggests a slow, pervasive corrosion: once ridicule enters a movement’s symbolic world, it spreads, weakening loyalty and making grand claims look shabby. The quote also implies an ambivalence about humor’s power: mockery can be a tool of liberation against dogma, but it can also indiscriminately erode commitments, leaving cynicism in place of belief.