The Rise of Ideas and the Fall of the State Essay -- Social Revolution

Social revolutions are swift and violent transformations, carried out by the lower classes, which ultimately transform the political, social, and socioeconomic structures of the government (Skocpol, 4). Revolutions do not easily occur and are not inevitable. In fact, there must be certain variables simultaneously present in order for the current regime to collapse and be replaced by a new system. In the following paper, I will illustrate how the simultaneous presence of two variables leads to the social revolutions in France in October of 1789, Russia, in February of 1917, and China in 1949. The first variable describes how wars can cause economic strain that leads to the neglection of the military, which causes defections. The second variable is the rise of radical ideologies resulting in the creation of political parties, which mobilize the peasants. Note that the Chinese Revolution of 1949 is chosen as the social revolution because it adheres to Skocpol’s definition as a r evolution by the lower classes and results in a total transformation of the state, whereas the revolution in 1911 does not. I will also discuss why social revolutions did not occur in the negative cases of the Prussian Reform, the Japanese Meiji Restoration and Russia in 1905. There are no current theories that explain why, how, and when revolutions occur. The volcanic model states that revolutions occur when the demands of the people are not met by the state and the eventual frustration of the people will mobilize the masses, resulting in a transformation of the system (Aya, 7). This theory neglects to identify the actors and the connection between mass frustration and social change. It also fails to identify the ultimate spark that motivates people to c... ...Meiji Restoration, there was no mobilization of the lower people, and the Samurai conducted the reforms from above. In Russia, radical ideas were present in 1905 and did mobilize the peasants, however, the military was present and therefore since both variables need to occur concurrently, there was no revolution in Russia in 1905. The collapse of the army alone would not cause a revolution; neither would protests or riots alone. However, it is the combination of both the collapse of the military as well as the uprisings against the state that results in a revolution. The collapse of the forces of the state allows for the uprisings to become powerful and therefore have the opportunity to attack the state when it is at its weakest point. The two variables that I have discussed show that it takes both variables at the same time in order for a revolution to occur.