“Applying Revolution in the Modern World”
by: Robert J. Escandon
Revolution is romantic. It unites and forces change on the multitudes under its glorious banner, much like the armed revolt led by Fidel Castro against Fulgencio Batista under the banner of revolution. 5
It’s romantic because it’s tragic. It’s tragic because at times, many die at the hands of the revolution, some are arrested, ridiculed and ostracized all because they oppose a group that represents the majority within society. The majority by all means is never entirely correct. Sometimes, views and opinions change. Martin Luther, responsible for the Protestant Reformation is a rounded example of someone being ostracized because of his views. Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church because he demanded change. 5
It seems like revolutions happened much more often in the past than it does now. The current state of the world lends itself to a sort of discreet suppression of ideas and/or any type of revolt through military or intellectual means. This leads to make any attempt at a revolution to roll over on its back before any real momentum is gained. As it is, we simply don’t hear about revolutions in our twentieth century world, especially when we are so far from world conflict to actually care or get involved in it. 7
Throughout the body of this text, we will learn how to incite a revolution within our modern world by looking at how it was done in the past, and by analyzing modern tools that can assist in organizing and executing a revolution.
Thematically, most revolutions are born from a particular discontent towards the mainstream ideology. For the purposes of this essay, we will simply refer to this mainstream ideology as the ‘state’. The state can be any type of collected ideology. For example, the United States represents a profoundly rooted ideology, which manifests within the daily lives of its American citizens. The state, by default is a group of people that have agreed to live under a particular set of rules and regulations. This group is usually composed of high profile, respected figures within society. The psychology behind it communicates that if these professionals being, doctors, lawyers, professors and so on, agree upon a list of rules and ideas, then they should be followed. It becomes popular because more and more people agree upon them. If more people agree upon them, then it becomes the majority rule and therefore implemented as the way things simply are from that point on. 8 The state regulates its followers by enforcing the ideas that have been agreed upon.
This is simply referred to as Nationalism. Think of Nationalism as a gang that is always accepting new members as long as they are willing to abide by the rules and ideas of the gang. Nationalism keeps its citizens regulated through media, propaganda, educational facilities, authorities, specialists and other instruments of the likes to enforce the key ideas that keep the state working properly towards its goals. These instruments are the tools of enforcement and in many ways guarantee that the citizens of the state remain on track and passively obedient. 8 Randolph Bourne, a writer and intellectual is of the opinion that the state is led by intellectuals that seemingly care for the interest of it’s citizens while secretly pushing and forcing secret agendas without any resistance. 7 For those citizens who begin to think outside of the laid out path and fall out from the popular ideologies housed under Nationalism, there are facilities that provide further conditioning to get them back on track. Some of these facilities that are used to reprogram the fallen citizens are, hospitals, jails, educational facilities, rehabilitation centers, psychologists, and psychiatrists to name a few. The idea behind this is that if a particular citizen does not agree with the mainstream ideology, there must be something wrong with them. So by natural logic, if the state and its officials feel that there is something wrong with one of their citizens, they send them off to one of these facilities. For the most part, a criminal who has raped a woman or a child deserves to be rehabilitated with a jail sentence, because they are causing moral harm to others. A citizen that suffers from schizophrenia perhaps needs to see a psychologist or hospital depending on his or her own individual needs. These types of scenarios are self-explanatory. But as we can see, every state, country or established community develops special interests, and thus is where the problems usually begin. Before the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro was jailed because his ideas differed from the practiced ideologies of the state. 2
The every day citizen dictates their world partially as seen through the media. The reason for this is simply because humans rely on information from others way too much. Funny enough, Historians, the famed composers of our historic timeline value primary sources of information when in actuality, if the Historian wasn’t there to experience it themselves, it is by default a secondary source of information. If this is the prevailing fact, then the citizen must trust in his or herself as experience dictates life. Very little questioning happens because the citizens are usually kept entertained and preoccupied by the diversity of life, bills, death, illness, movies, news and so on. In our contemporary world, citizens are merely handed information, which they willingly accept without thought. However, the special interests developed by the state’s intellectuals are the very divisions that give rise to discontent citizens. We could see a similar event happen with Pol Pots revolution in Camodia. Pol Pot led an Agrarian revolution in order to return his country to more ancient times, simply because he did not agree with direction the leader was taking the country. 5 This can be attributed to a mere difference in opinion, as which is the case with most revolutions.
A citizen, who feels that the state does not represent them fully, might begin to think outside of the mainstream ideology. At first, they might question why it is that they view society differently from their hard working comrades, and indirectly blame themselves for thinking differently. Perhaps there is something wrong with them personally, as opposed to thinking that there might be something wrong with the system they live in. 8 This discontent citizen might begin to develop a new ideology. Sadly, the state will usually not welcome new ideas that can potentially overthrow the established system. It is difficult for the state to welcome new ideological changes simply because they can be construed as revolution. 8
A revolution of any sorts will face public suppression and most likely be forced into an underground movement. The Cuban revolution of 1959 was an armed assault, but it was in fact an underground, guerilla movement between 1956 and 1958. 2 The years leading to the actual engagement between revolutionaries and government were necessary for the Cuban revolution to stick. These years build momentum, strength and more importantly a structure for the new would-be government. After the revolution gains enough wind and enough followers, the revolutionaries must now decide if they will implement their ideas through a peaceful transition or through warfare.
Throughout human history, revolution has always been present, seamlessly forever cycling through our many great societies. Let’s take a quick glance at some of the more ancient revolutions in order to show how much this concept of revolution is embedded within human life. In 2380 BCE we see one of the first revolutions in documented history conducted within the ancient city of Lagash, which resides in Sumer. Unhappy with the actions of King Lugalanda, Urukagina put forth reforms to combat his corruption. Urukagina’s revolution crowned him new king. This revolution also gave birth to one of the first legal codes in history. From a discontent of the established system, a group of revolutionaries, in this case led by Urukagina not only initiated a change in government within the state, but also paved the way for new laws and for a new way of life so to speak. 6 At times these changes are good and perpetuate through the reign of the new empire and at times they fall, much like the new empires. Regardless, the cycle of revolution throughout human history is always very present. In 615 BCE we find the Babylonians who had acquired an allegiance with neighboring states inciting a revolution against the dominant Assyrian empire. Here we can see a revolution conducted by a collection of oppressed states against its domineering parent figure. 5 The Ionian Revolt that ended in 493 BCE was a revolution led by Greek states whom broke free of Persian rule. The Intellectual Revolution that took place between 600 BCE and 400 BCE, was a pre Socratic period in which a particular speculation over the nature of things occurred. In this example, we see a revolution not against another army, but against the oppressing forces of the natural world. In many instances we see success in revolutions, however, we also see many revolutions, which have been subdued. In 181-174 BCE saw the Celtiberian revolution in Spain, which was later thwarted by the Roman Empire. The Roman slave rebellion of 71 BCE, led by the famed gladiator Spartacus was also a failed attempt to over throw Rome. 6 In 18 CE, discontent with the way the system was running, the Red Eyebrow agrarian rebellion took place in China. It was aimed at overthrowing Wang Mang’s Xin Dynasty to reestablish the former Ham Dynasty. The Red Eyebrow was only one of many revolts conducted under the collective name of Chimei. The world’s human history has seen countless of revolutions throughout its course, some of them successful and some of them not so much. The Great Jewish revolts of 70 CE against the Roman Empire, the Nika Revolt of 532 CE in Constantinople, the Saxon revolts against the King of Franks, Charlemagne of 785 CE and even the Wars of Scottish Independence that were waged between the Scottish and the English in 1328 CE are just a few examples of the revolutions waged throughout history. 5 Thematically, these revolts are all part of a desire to change what is established, for something new.
We can see that the concept and implementation of revolution has been a part of human life for centuries in some shape or form. It seems almost natural to rebel against mass opinion and seek change that represents new ideas.
Like anything else in life, revolutions use certain tools in order to implement the intended change. More modern revolutions such as the American Revolution conducted between 1775 and 1783 CE are clearer examples of a revolutions main premise, ‘change.’ However, the way change is actually implemented is an art all on its own. The Americans in an attempt to establish their independence from Britain, were able to give birth to the republic of the United States of America. 5 Using the American Revolution as a tip-off point, we can see how early use of propaganda influences, empowers and justifies a revolution. For one reason or another, the American colonists had contempt for the British. There were arguments and fights that occurred throughout their time together, but for the most part, nothing too disrupting in nature. When the Boston Massacre occurred, an incident that led to the death of five colonists at the hands of the proper British, everything changed. Five people being killed, does not constitute a massacre in any way. However, the Americans used this incident as fuel for their rebellion. Revolutionaries like Paul Revere and Samuel Adams used the Boston Massacre to inspire those who would normally not join their plight for freedom from Britain. 5 Illustrations used at the time will show an army of British soldiers standing in single file line taking their shots at five helpless Americans. When others saw this illustration, they had no problem to find a little hate for their British counterparts thus innately leading to the American Revolution. 1 We can see how propaganda empowers ideology and the impact it has to those who gaze upon it.
1848 was the year that Prussian born Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel’s published the Communist Manifesto. In many ways, this manuscript was another form of propaganda inclined towards the intellectual. This is important because intellectuals are the ones that develop new ideologies. Ho Chi Minh, famous leader during the Vietnam War was an intellectual inspired by the work of Marx. 1 The intellectual propaganda of Marx and Engel’s researched the theory of how the working class affected society and showcased the initial problems with a capitalist structure. The bottom line is simply that the Manifesto was food for thought for many upstart revolutionary leaders. It provided them with a stepping-stone as to where to start. As most revolutions are based on a particular philosophy or a line of logic, the Manifesto inspired the communist revolution of Russia in 1917, China 1926-1949, Vietnam 1945, North Korea 1948 and Cuba in 1959 just to name a few. 2
Another tool used to implement and enforce revolutionary movements is propaganda. The October Revolution, or collectively known as the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 was an armed insurrection led by Vladimir Lenin, whom was the leader of the Marxist Socialist Party. Lenin is credited with having created the very first modern propaganda machine. Lenin’s use of the simple poster was astounding. 3 The posters used to support the need for the revolution were subtle with their presentation, but very powerful in their use of colors and dramatic engagement. Lenin even used postage stamps, sculptures and even marches to enforce the Bolshevik movement. 1 In fact Lenin used these elements of propaganda through the Bolshevik Era (1917-1921 CE), in which he infused the propaganda with revolutionary justification and empowering symbolism. The New Economic Policy (1921-1927), which served as an era of recovery and freedom for the war torn Russia inspired the masses by using a sort of constructivist feel and style. The two part Five Year Plans led by Stalin were used to push Russia into a full blown industrialized country, using elements in its propaganda that invoked a sense heroism and leadership. 3 The Great Patriotic War (1939-1945) found its propaganda reviving the Bolshevik Era through its use of empowering symbolism, inspiring patriotic responsibility.
Revolutions find much of their roots in intellectual pursuits. As discussed before, propaganda is perhaps the most powerful tool in any revolution. Following this logic, a person that does not know that there is something wrong with the way of things will simply continue to live in the manner in which they are accustomed. This particular citizen might be too busy working and maintaining a daily structure and does not have time to think about the things that might be wrong within their governmental structure. Propaganda is used to inform this citizen of the atrocities being conducted by their government and encourages them to join the fight for change. The support of the masses is only as powerful as the propaganda used to bring them on the bandwagon. 2
In our modern world wars are not only fought on the battlefield, they are fought through the printing press, emails, websites, conversations, televisions, movies and any other media you can shake a memory card at. Propaganda is how an empire retains control. Nationalism, representing the collected ideology of its followers reinforces its ideas daily. Think about America for instance and how every car dealer has a huge American flag waving on its parking lot reminding you where you are, just in case you forgot. Television reminds us of what American families should be striving for, the white picket fence, the dog, the marriage and the kid. Through this use of propaganda we are pushed into a dream that never really seems to develop. This type of propaganda is in many ways is anti-revolutionary propaganda. It is used to reinforce and to establish invisible boundaries as to which citizens are allowed to tread on. Any revolution that is conceived automatically faces the inexhaustible propaganda machine. 1
Taking arms and marching in the name of revolution is perhaps more difficult today, than it was in the years aforementioned. The twenty first century seems to be revolution free for most parts of the world. However, it does not mean that it’s impossible. First and for most let us take our lessons from our global forefathers and think about the need for change. If there is anything that needs to be changed, then a revolution is in order. The scale of this particular revolution is always debatable, but is always linked to the justification of the cause. If the revolution waged is to take down an established government like in the American Revolution, then a larger group is needed to incite it. If the revolution is perhaps less involved, such as a change in corporate structure, then a smaller group is favored. All in all, the justification for any revolution is established through either a philosophy or a logical structure of grievances. Once this is established and justified, then the seeds of change can be planted and grown. Once this is done, the information must be passed on to all who meet the targeted demographics. 2 Any who are affected by what the revolution is going against will most likely jump on the bandwagon.
Within the structure of the twenty first century, the internet is a tool that can be used to peak interest. However, nothing can truly beat a statue that represents a particular array of symbolism, even a billboard and snail mail holds more weight than the information highway. The reason for this logic is simple. When a normal everyday citizen is on his/her computer they are bombarded by information. They are checking their email, watching a video, listening to music, talking on the phone, surfing the web and so on. With all of this going on, the information absorbed on the internet is as important as a Saturday morning cartoon, momentarily vital but dismissed soon after the credits. Digital means are supportive of a revolution but are not final nor beginning turning points. Physical real world examples hold more ground because revolution purges on emotional and logical factors. The digital world at times is seen as ‘not real’ and can be dismissed once the computer is turned off. Propaganda is passed around, followers are gathered and the revolution itself begins to face the opposition of the established ideology. If the revolution is strong, then it will prevail. If it is weak, then it will fail. 1
More importantly, revolutions can be conducted in a peaceful manner.
Endnotes
1 Goldstone, Jack A. “Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies.” Wadsworth Publishing. 2002.
2 Defronzo, James. “Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements.” Westview Press. 1996.
3 Pipes, Richard. “Concise History of the Russian Revolution.” San Val. 1996.
4 Gaddis, John Lewis. “The Cold War: A New History.” Penguin Press. 2005.
5 Blackwell Reference Online. “http://www.blackwellreference.com.” 2010.
6 Harman, Chris. “People’s History of the World.” Verso. 2008.
7 Bourne, Randolph. “The War and the Intelectuals.” http://www.bigeye.com/thewar.htm.
1979.
8 Luttwak, Edward N. “Coup d’Etat: A Practical Handbook.” Harvard University Press. 1979.
