revolution

Any rapid, far-reaching, or violent change in the political, social, or economic structure of society. It is usually applied to political change: examples include the American Revolution, where the colonists broke free from their colonial ties and established a sovereign, independent nation; the French Revolution, where an absolute monarchy was overthrown by opposition from inside the country and a popular uprising; and the Russian Revolution, where a repressive monarchy was overthrown by those seeking to institute widespread social and economic changes based on a socialist model. In 1989-90 the Eastern Bloc nations demonstrated against and voted out the Communist Party, in many cases creating a pro-democracy revolution.

While political revolutions are often associated with violence, other types of change can have just as much impact on society. Most notable is the Industrial Revolution of the mid-18th century, which caused massive economic and social changes. In the 1970s and 1980s a high-tech revolution based on the silicon chip took place, facilitating the widespread use of computers.

A political revolution is a fundamental change in the internal constitution of a country brought about by the inhabitants. A revolution is thus to be distinguished both from conquest and from a mere coup. However the question of what constitutes a fundamental change is central and can only be answered by reference to the kind of analysis to which the user subscribes. Thus for a Marxist a true revolution might only be one in which one class seizes power from another, and following this view it would be possible for there to be major political upheavals involving armed conflict which were not revolutions.

Originally ‘revolution’ had reactionary tendencies, as the etymology of the word suggests, indicating a reversion to an original, usually better, state of affairs; or to a ‘revolving’ of the wheel of fortune upon which human fate was supposed to depend. However, since the French Revolution it has usually been understood to mean a radical and irreversible change in the sense of innovation, rather than restoration.