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What does Revolution mean in social science?
What is a revolution in History & Political Science?
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Sep 18, 2014 · The main purpose of this study was to investigate the causes of social revolutions. In this article, I take a synthetic approach and hypothesize that the three most important factors that explain the onset of social revolution are economic development, regime type, and state ineffectiveness.
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- 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.
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Oct 19, 2023 · In the fields of history and political science, a revolution is a radical change in the established order, usually the established government and social institutions. Typically, revolutions take the form of organized movements aimed at effecting change—economic change, technological change, political change, or social change.
Jan 15, 2015 · Social revolutions are typically conceived as transformative historical events that fundamentally change the social structures of society. Their outcomes, as such, are usually associated with the transition to modernity, the rise of capitalism, and the emergence of democracy.
Scientific Revolution is the name given to a period of drastic change in scientific thought that took place during the 16th and 17th centuries. It replaced the Greek view of nature that had dominated science for almost 2,000 years.
- How is the Scientific Revolution connected to the Enlightenment?The Enlightenment, like the Scientific Revolution, began in Europe. Taking place during the 17th and 18th centuries, this intellectual movement syn...
- What did the Scientific Revolution lead to?The sudden emergence of new information during the Scientific Revolution called into question religious beliefs, moral principles, and the traditio...
‘What is a revolution?’ illustrates how revolutions differ from other kinds of disorders and social change. Peasant revolts, grain riots, strikes, social movements, coups, and civil wars can all arise in the course of revolutions and are important constituent elements of revolutionary struggles.
Mar 5, 2009 · The Scientific Revolution supposedly encompassed all of science or natural philosophy, as it then existed, with major social implications, as opposed to more recent talk of revolutions within particular technical fields.
