Bourgeois revolution
Bourgeois revolution is a term used in Marxist theory to refer to a social revolution that aims to destroy a feudal system or its vestiges, establish the rule of the bourgeoisie, and create a bourgeois state.[1][2] In colonised or subjugated countries, bourgeois revolutions often take the form of a war of national independence. The Dutch, English, American, and French revolutions are considered the archetypal bourgeois revolutions,[3][4] in that they attempted to clear away the remnants of the medieval feudal system, so as to pave the way for the rise of capitalism.[1] The term is usually used in contrast to "proletarian revolution", and is also sometimes called a "bourgeois-democratic revolution".[5]
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Theories of Bourgeois revolution
According to one version of the two-stage theory, bourgeois revolution was asserted to be a necessary step in the move toward socialism. In this view, countries that had preserved their feudal structure, like Russia, would have to establish capitalism via a bourgeois revolution before being able to wage a proletarian revolution. At the time of the Russian Revolution, the Mensheviks asserted this theory, arguing that a revolution led by bourgeoisie was necessary to modernise society, establish basic freedoms, and overcome feudalism, which would establish the conditions necessary for socialism.[6]
Other theories describe the evolution of the bourgeoisie as not needing a revolution. The German bourgeoisie during the 1848 revolution did not strive to take command of the political effort and instead sided with the crown.[7][8] Neil Davidson attributes their behaviour to the late development of capitalist relations and uses this as the model for the evolution of the bourgeoisie.[9]
The goals of the Bourgeois revolution
According to the Marxist view, the tasks of the bourgeois revolution include:
- The creation of the nation state (which can be constituted differently in different peoples).[10][11]
- The constitution of the state on the basis of popular sovereignty (the rule of law is based on a constitution[12] adopted by the people).
- Bourgeois rule[13] if possible in the form of a democratic republic[14] (which, however, already found its complement in tyranny in antiquity).[15]
- The abolition of serfdom, free wage workers instead.[16]
- The separation of producers from the means of production in primitive accumulation.[17]
- The abolition of the guilds and freedom of investment.[18]
- The free development of the productive forces until they are ripe for social revolution.
Bourgeois revolutions in history
Bourgeois revolutions in the middle ages
Although with much less diffusion, some social movements of the European Late Middle Ages have also received the name of bourgeois revolution, in which the bourgeoisie begins to define itself in the nascent cities as a social class. Examples include the Ciompi Revolt in the Republic of Florence, Jacquerie revolts during the Hundred Years' War in France,[19] and Bourgeois revolts of Sahagún in Spain.[20][21]
Bourgeois revolutions in the early modern period
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Bourgeois revolutions in the late modern period
French July Revolution (1830)[22].svg.png.webp)
French February Revolution (1848)[23][24]
German revolutions of 1848–1849[25]
Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states[26][24].svg.png.webp)
Hungarian Revolution of 1848[26][27]
Philippine Revolution (1896–1898)[28]
1905 Russian Revolution (1905–1907)[29].svg.png.webp)
Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911)[30].svg.png.webp)
Young Turk Revolution (1908)[31].svg.png.webp)
Chinese revolution of 1911 (1911–1912)[32].svg.png.webp)
Mexican Revolution (1910–1917)[33]
References
- "Bourgeois Revolution". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- Johnson, Elliott; Walker, David; Gray, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Democracy". Historical Dictionary of Marxism (2nd ed.). Lanham; Boulder; New York; London: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-4422-3798-8.
- Eisenstein (2010), p. 64, quoted in Davidson, Neil (2012). "From Society to Politics; From Event to Process". How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions?. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books. pp. 381–382. ISBN 978-1-60846-067-0.
- Callinicos 1989, pp. 113–171.
- Wilczynski, Jozef, ed. (1981). "Bourgeois Revolution". An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Marxism, Socialism and Communism. London: Macmillan Press. p. 48. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-05806-8. ISBN 978-1-349-05806-8.
- "Stagism". Encyclopedia of Marxism. Retrieved 6 November 2018 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
- Hallas 1988, pp. 17–20.
- Klíma 1986, pp. 93–94.
- Davidson, Neil (2012). "Marx and Engels (2) 1847–52". How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions?. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-60846-067-0.
In a world where most states have not yet experienced bourgeois revolutions, where most are even more economically underdeveloped than Germany, they too will give rise to "belated" bourgeoisies, the implication being that it is Germany rather than France that represents the likely pattern of bourgeois development.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 8. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. p. 197.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 16. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. p. 157.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 37. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. p. 463.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 8. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. p. 196.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 22. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. pp. 235–236.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 17. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. p. 337.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 17. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. p. 592.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 23. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. pp. 741–761.
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1956). Marx-Engels-Werke. Vol. 17. Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin. p. 592.
- Mollat, Michel [in French]; Wolff, Philippe [in French] (1970). Ongles bleus, jacques et ciompi - les révolutions populaires en Europe aux XIVe et XVe siècles [Ongles bleus, Jacquerie and Ciompi - popular revolutions in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries] (in French). Calmann-Lévy.
- Pastor de Togneri, Reyna [in Spanish] (1973). Conflictos sociales y estancamiento económico en la España medieval [Social conflicts and economic stagnation in medieval Spain] (in Spanish). Editorial Ariel.
- Martín, José Luis. Historia de España [History of Spain (A society at war)]. Historia 16 (in Spanish). Vol. 4 - Una sociedad en guerra.
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973a, p. 172.
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973a, p. 233.
- Klíma 1986, pp. 74–75.
- Modern World History Writing Group (1973a), p. 255; Callinicos (1989), pp. 113–171; Hallas (1988), pp. 17–20; Klíma (1986), pp. 74–75
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973a.
- Klíma 1986, p. 77.
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973b, p. 150.
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973b, p. 130.
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973b, p. 152.
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973b, p. 160.
- Zhang, Yuchun; Ma, Zhenwen (1976). 简明中国近代史 [A Concise Modern History of China] (in Chinese). Liaoning People's Publishing House. p. 301.
- Modern World History Writing Group 1973b, p. 224.
Bibliography
- Callinicos, Alex (Summer 1989). "Bourgeois Revolutions and Historical Materialism". International Socialism. 2 (43): 113–171 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
- Eisenstein, Hester (13 May 2010). Feminism Seduced: How Global Elites Use Women's Labor and Ideas to Exploit the World. Routledge. ISBN 9781594516603.
- Hallas, Duncan (January 1988). "The Bourgeois Revolution". Socialist Review. No. 105. Socialist Workers Party. pp. 17–20 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
- Klíma, Arnošt (1986). "4 - The bourgeois revolution of 1848–9 in Central Europe". In Porter, Roy; Teich, Mikuláš (eds.). Revolution in History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 74–100. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316256961. ISBN 9781316256961.
- Modern World History Writing Group (June 1973a). Shanghai Normal University (ed.). 世界近代史 [Book of Modern World History] (in Chinese). Vol. I. Shanghai People's Press.
- Modern World History Writing Group (June 1973b). Shanghai Normal University (ed.). 世界近代史 [Book of Modern World History] (in Chinese). Vol. II. Shanghai People's Press.