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ajqtrz
Chef - loquacious Old Dog
I have studied a lot of history and focused the last couple years on various revolutions, the Bolshevik, the French, the US, the Cuban and so forth. In doing so I have figured out there are four stages of most revolutions, but not all. The distinction might be understood by understanding why William Penn, the British statesman during the US revolution and the French revolution, supported the US, but not the French. I'll not go into his views here but leave it to the reader to ferret that distinction out for themselves. Otherwise, most revolutions, if they are focused and successful, overthrow their governments in four stages. They are the "4D's of Revolution."
First there is Division. The easiest and most common is along class/economic lines and the goal is to divide the population into the "have's" and the "have nots." Thus, for the revolutionary minded it is better to let the "rich get richer" and the "poor get poorer" for awhile as that leads to a deeper division between the two groups. It is also why having a large middle class makes revolution so much more difficult to foment. Thomas Jefferson stated a truism that says that as long as the general population believes that what they have will not be taken from them unjustly and that they can, through reasonable means, get more, they will not be prone to rebellion even if they have a really, really bad government. "The form of government" he basically said, "is immaterial as long as the population believes these things." So the first goal of a revolution is to get the population truely divided.
Then there is Destabilization. In an unstable political environment people do not feel secure or that they can prosper. Thus, to further separate the two groups you have to make things worse before you can make them better. People have to feel the need for change. It's interesting to note that when it comes to voting the western world (and the US in particular) has some of the lowest voting levels. This is because most people do not want radical change (the type a revolution brings) exactly because they feel secure and hopeful.
The third stage is Destruction. In this stage you have to undermine the trust the people have in the institutions. Courts have to be corrupted, police taking bribes, and political wrangling should be the norm. This is where peaceful protests become deadly. It is where buildings are burned and assinations carried out against both the "rebels" and the "governement."
Finally, the fourth stage is "Dictate." In this stage the rebels or the government begins to dictate in broad strokes with a lot of punishment for breaking rules. Freedoms go south and eventually, in most revolutions, a dictator arises. The French had Napoleon. Cuba had Castro. The Bolsheviks had Lenin, then Stalin.
Well, that's my take on it. Hope you find it interesting.
AJ
First there is Division. The easiest and most common is along class/economic lines and the goal is to divide the population into the "have's" and the "have nots." Thus, for the revolutionary minded it is better to let the "rich get richer" and the "poor get poorer" for awhile as that leads to a deeper division between the two groups. It is also why having a large middle class makes revolution so much more difficult to foment. Thomas Jefferson stated a truism that says that as long as the general population believes that what they have will not be taken from them unjustly and that they can, through reasonable means, get more, they will not be prone to rebellion even if they have a really, really bad government. "The form of government" he basically said, "is immaterial as long as the population believes these things." So the first goal of a revolution is to get the population truely divided.
Then there is Destabilization. In an unstable political environment people do not feel secure or that they can prosper. Thus, to further separate the two groups you have to make things worse before you can make them better. People have to feel the need for change. It's interesting to note that when it comes to voting the western world (and the US in particular) has some of the lowest voting levels. This is because most people do not want radical change (the type a revolution brings) exactly because they feel secure and hopeful.
The third stage is Destruction. In this stage you have to undermine the trust the people have in the institutions. Courts have to be corrupted, police taking bribes, and political wrangling should be the norm. This is where peaceful protests become deadly. It is where buildings are burned and assinations carried out against both the "rebels" and the "governement."
Finally, the fourth stage is "Dictate." In this stage the rebels or the government begins to dictate in broad strokes with a lot of punishment for breaking rules. Freedoms go south and eventually, in most revolutions, a dictator arises. The French had Napoleon. Cuba had Castro. The Bolsheviks had Lenin, then Stalin.
Well, that's my take on it. Hope you find it interesting.
AJ