Theories of Revolution - 2542 Words

Theories of Revolution What is a structural theory of revolution? How does a structural theory differ from explanations that emphasize the role of individuals, ideology, and culture? Assess the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches for understanding the origins and outcomes of revolutions. Theories of revolutions come from many sources and involve informed decisions made by the reader. In order for one to come to the final realisation as to what the theories of revolutions are one must first answer the following questions: what is a structural theory of revolution? How does a structural theory differ from explanations that emphasize the role of individuals, ideology and culture? It also involves the strengths and†¦show more content†¦The role of individuals in this case fails to differ from the lack of respect and poor treatment shown to peasants, which was explained in the definition of the structural theory. Thus, one must move onto the next point – how does the role of ideology differ from the structural theory of revolutions? Ideology appears to play an important role in a revolution. This is especially the case for new leaders which are trying to gain the support of both the peasantry and the elite class. In order for a new leader, or polity, to gain any support, they must first begin by having a campaign plan and create aims which they are determined to receive in order to gain power and lead any revolution. In order to do this, a potential leader must primarily prove to be somewhat â€Å"charismatic†. This would preferably be a person who considers themselves to be capable of challenging the traditional authorities, accumulate supporters and potentially be capable of eradicating the old regime: â€Å"....a â€Å"charismatic† leader...challenges traditional authorities, gathers followers, and leads the overthrow of the old regime†.[6] It is quite obvious that unless many enticing ideas are presented properly to the people of a country preparing to revolt, then there would be no revolution. However, one must consider the ideas which are being presented to the public. Although many appear quiteShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of The Scientific Revolution1255 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Scientific Revolution, â€Å"there occurred a shift in humans thinking from the medieval emphasis on God s eternal unchanging world, which governed people, the universe, and nature, to an approach that defined knowledge and understanding as derived from the immutable laws of nature independent of received truth.† Scientists changed the way people think about the world. The gears of the revolution began to turn when Copernicus questioned the geocentric theory, developing his theory of heliocentrismRead MoreThe Theory Of Scientific Revolutions1501 Words   |  7 PagesIn my essay I plan to argue that Thomas Kuhn was incorrect when he presented his theory that no paradigm is better than any other paradigm and how he believed that people who occupy different paradigms are in different universes, in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. I believe that there is no valid deductive or inductive support for incommensurability, there are examples against it throughout the history of science t hat do not exhibit the discontinuity and replacement of paradigmsRead MoreThe Theory And Methods Of Revolution Essay1892 Words   |  8 PagesChinese Emperor Mao Zedong once said â€Å"If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself. If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.† (1) This quote means that people who want to speak about real life experiences need to experience life for themselves. Indirectly, the knowledge of a person cannot be measured by the standard and perception of society due to theRead MoreLenin s Theory Of Revolution3171 Words   |  13 Pageswas the key defender of Marx when his theories were attacked by revisionists such as Bernstein, Lenin defended Marx s work due to his respect of his theories. The theories revolving around Lenin changed over time due to the increase in resources available. The original acco unts attack Lenin, accusing him of seeking power unscrupulously. Lenin spent the majority of his time researching Marx s ideas, looking for evidence to back his theories of revolution before it occurred so that he could proveRead MoreConflict Theory And The Mexican Revolution2247 Words   |  9 PagesConflict Theory and the Mexican Revolution Makenna Nichols Political Science 324 Winter 2015 The Mexican Revolution was a time of massive death counts and extreme bloodshed. It occurred from 1910 during Porfirio Diaz’s last years as a dictator/president and ended with the Mexican Constitution of 1917. In the case of Mexico, the revolution was inevitable. Why do revolutions occur and specifically the Mexican Revolution? The large majority of the population was peasants and the lower class. TheirRead MoreThe Theory Of Science And Scientific Revolutions2396 Words   |  10 Pagesquestions about science, with questions about the history of science. Throughout this essay, I will connect questions of philosophy and the history of science together by explaining Kuhn’s account of the structure of normal science and scientific revolutions. Firstly, normal science and revolutionary science are pieces of a paradigm. A paradigm, in turn, is a whole way of doing science. It is a package of claims about the world, habits of scientific thought and action, and methods for gathering andRead MoreThe Theory Of Science And Scientific Revolutions1827 Words   |  8 Pagesinteresting it was to connect philosophical questions about science with questions about the history of science. Throughout this essay, I will connect these questions together by explaining Kuhn’s account of the structure of normal science and scientific revolutions. Firstly, normal science and revolutionary science are pieces of a paradigm. A paradigm, in turn, is a whole way of doing science. It is a package of claims about the world, habits of scientific thought and action, and methods for gathering andRead MoreMarx s Theory Of The Industrial Revolution1553 Words   |  7 PagesKuyper/Marx Primary Source Paper Kuyper and Marx were men that lived in a time where the world revolved around money, production, and control. The Industrial Revolution led to a new era of questioning the social aspect of our life and what should be done in order to care for and how to help the people in their daily life as they were responsible for the fruitful results that came about from the era. Because of such rapid growth economically for many nations there was no care for the workersRead MoreMarx s Theory Of The Industrial Revolution1553 Words   |  7 PagesKuyper/Marx Primary Source Paper Kuyper and Marx were men that lived in a time where the world revolved around money, production, and control. The Industrial Revolution led to a new era of questioning the social aspect of our life and what should be done in order to care for and how to help the people in their daily life as they were responsible for the fruitful results that came about from the era. Because of such rapid growth economically for many nations there was no care for theRead MoreAnalysis of Ogburns Theories and Revolutions on Technology602 Words   |  2 Pages1. Ogburn identifies four social revolutions that have occurred as the result of new technologies. The first was the move from the hunter-gathered model to pastoralism or horticulturalism, where people settled either to raise animals or to grow plants for food. Technologies for hunting or agriculture made such moves possible. As we were able to learn enough about food production to remain in one place for extended periods, we chose to do so. The next step was the move to an agrarian society. Using