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This theme embraces events and processes contributing to the courses, outcomes, and reactions to both moments conventionally labeled “revolutions” in Latin American history, such as large-scale events like the Mexican Revolution, and more disparate efforts to secure—or resist—sociopolitical change. Type. Introduction.
- Erica Toffoli
- 2017
- Overview
- Early beliefs about revolution
- Later and modern revolutionary thought
revolution, in social and political science, a major, sudden, and hence typically violent alteration in government and in related associations and structures. The term is used by analogy in such expressions as the Industrial Revolution, where it refers to a radical and profound change in economic relationships and technological conditions.
Though the idea of revolution was originally related to the Aristotelian notion of cyclical alterations in the forms of government, it now implies a fundamental departure from any previous historical pattern. A revolution constitutes a challenge to the established political order and the eventual establishment of a new order radically different from the preceding one. The great revolutions of European history, especially the Glorious (English), French, and Russian revolutions, changed not only the system of government but also the economic system, the social structure, and the cultural values of those societies.
Historically, the concept of revolution was seen as a very destructive force, from ancient Greece to the European Middle Ages. The ancient Greeks saw revolution as a possibility only after the decay of the fundamental moral and religious tenets of society. Plato believed that a constant, firmly entrenched code of beliefs could prevent revolution. Aristotle elaborated on this concept, concluding that if a culture’s basic value system is tenuous, the society will be vulnerable to revolution. Any radical alteration in basic values or beliefs provides the ground for a revolutionary upheaval.
Only after the emergence of secular humanism during the Renaissance did this concept of revolution, as a cause of the desecration of society, change to embrace a more modern perspective. The 16th-century Italian writer Niccolò Machiavelli recognized the importance of creating a state that could endure the threat of revolution; but, at the same time, his detailed analysis of power led to a new belief in the necessity of changes in the structure of government on certain occasions. This new acceptance of change placed Machiavelli at the forefront of modern revolutionary thought, even though he never used the word revolution in his texts, and he was primarily concerned with the creation of a truly stable state.
The 17th-century English writer John Milton was an early believer in revolution’s inherent ability to help a society realize its potential. He also saw revolution as the right of society to defend itself against abusive tyrants, creating a new order that reflected the needs of the people. To Milton, revolution was the means of accomplishing freedom. Later, in the 18th century, the French, Haitian, and American revolutions were attempts to secure freedom from oppressive leadership. Modern revolutions have frequently incorporated utopian ideals as a basis for change.
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Immanuel Kant, the 18th-century German philosopher, believed in revolution as a force for the advancement of humankind. Kant believed that revolution was a “natural” step in the realization of a higher ethical foundation for society. This idea helped serve as a basis for the American and French revolutions.
The 19th-century German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel was a crucial catalyst in the formation of 20th-century revolutionary thought. He saw revolutions as the fulfillment of human destiny, and he saw revolutionary leaders as those necessary to instigate and implement reforms. Hegel’s theories served as the foundation for the most influential revolutionary thinker, Karl Marx. Marx used Hegel’s abstractions as the basis for a plan of class struggle, centred on a fight for the control of the economic processes of society. Marx believed in progressive stages of human history, culminating in the working-class overthrow of the property-owning class. For society to advance, the working class, or proletariat, must take over the means of production. Marx viewed this eventuality as the conclusion of the human struggle for freedom and a classless society, thus eliminating the need for further political change. Communist revolutions led by Marxists took place in Russia, Yugoslavia, China, Vietnam, and Cuba, among other countries, in the 20th century.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
17 de may. de 2024 · French Revolution, revolutionary movement that shook France between 1787 and 1799 and reached its first climax there in 1789—hence the conventional term “Revolution of 1789,” denoting the end of the ancien régime in France and serving also to distinguish that event from the later French revolutions of 1830 and 1848.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The French Revolution was a period of major social upheaval that began in 1787 and ended in 1799. It sought to completely change the relationship b...
- There were many reasons. The bourgeoisie—merchants, manufacturers, professionals—had gained financial power but were excluded from political power....
- King Louis XVI of France yielded to the idea of a new constitution and to the sovereignty of the people but at the same time sent emissaries to the...
- In some respects, the French Revolution did not succeed. But the ideas of representational democracy and basic property rights took hold, and it so...
Hace 2 días · Mexican Revolution, (1910–20), a long and bloody struggle among several factions in constantly shifting alliances which resulted ultimately in the end of the 30-year dictatorship in Mexico and the establishment of a constitutional republic. Origins of the Mexican Revolution.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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5 de oct. de 2018 · Revolution and Social Movements. October 2018. October 2018. DOI: 10.1002/9781119168577.ch39. In book: The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Social Movements (pp.682-697) Authors: Jack Goldstone ...
4 de ago. de 2014 · Revolutionary movements usually fail, but when they succeed, they bring about revolutions or regime change of one type or another. Revolutions and Revolutionary Situations. In everyday language, “revolution” has come to mean virtually any substantial change.
