Blogs

By Rodney D. Coates*

Currently, progressive listservs, facebooks, blogs, and twitters are all a twitter (sorry I could not help my self J) with the buzz coming out of first Tunisia and now Egypt.  It seems that the winds of change are being whipped by a revolutionary rejection of capitalism.  We are informed by these ideologues that these activities are not only predictable, but the normal outpouring of a mass public that has gotten tired of the excesses of capital.  Such ideological posturing and pedantic ravings may serve to inspire deep thoughts, Marxist revisionism, or even an occasional paper in some obscure local or national assembly of scholars.  Unfortunately, these rhetorical jaunts are fanciful at best, ridiculous to the extreme, and void of any real historical, critical, or progressive analysis. Such wishful thinking in the garb of the scholar yet leaves the scholar naked and at a loss when it becomes more than self-evident that while a revolutionary moment has indeed transpired –this revolution is not “the revolution” that they have worshipped since Marx’s writing of Das Kapital.  So, in the hopes of forestalling such dire fates –let us discuss not only revolutions but also this particular revolutionary moment.

First of all we should be clear of our terms.  Revolution, derived from the Latin “revolututio, literally means to turn around or to rapidly and significantly alter the political, cultural, social, economic institutions within and among societies.  Given this definition, we can conclude that there are indeed and have been many different revolutions over human history.  We have revolutions that have resulted from technological changes –such as those associated with the invention of the printing press or automobile; we have had revolutions that have resulted from organizational changes –such as that associated with the development of bureaucracy or bureaucratic efficiency; we have had revolutions that have resulted from religious or cultural transformations –Jesus, Islam, Lutheran and Protestant reformation (to name but a few); and we have had military coups, revolts, civil wars and uprisings are also equally familiar types of revolutionary moments. 

Secondly, we should distinguish between a revolutionary moment and a revolutionary movement.  Simply put, a revolutionary moment, which may involve a large or significant group of the population or major institutional leaders (particularly military, religious, and/or economic) typically produces only temporary changes or events.  Thus these moments may actually appear to be a revolution in the making –rarely continues to the point of major and significant institutional changes.  We have seen several of these revolutionary moments in this country –the Market Square and Red Square Massacre, Prohibition, and the Shakers.  What all of these had in common was a tremendous amount of initial enthusiasm, the promise of major transformations, but limited durability.  Alternatively, revolutionary movements are more sustained sequence of revolutionary moments that does lead to substantive political change.  Again, if we look at the U.S. the recent election of Barack Obama and the subsequent rise of the Tea Party are clearly evidence of revolutionary moments.  What is also clear is that neither Obama or the Tea Party created the moment, but they were able to successfully manipulate the moment for their political ends.  The fact that neither appears able to control the actual constituencies that are at the root of the revolutionary moments suggests that the actual movement might be farther down the road.

Now let us consider what is currently happening in both Tunisia and Egypt –along with more than a half dozen other states in the region.  What we are seeing is a growing set of revolutionary moments that have the potential to produce a truly revolutionary movement.  But the shape, extent, and character of this movement may not be anything close to progressive or Marxian.  In fact –if we consider what is being projected as legitimate grievances such as corrupt and inattentive government and political leaders,  massive economic uncertainty among a significant number of the young.  What they have called for is a change in leadership but not a change in political or economic systems.  Specifically, they are asking for a larger share of the economic and political pie not the destruction of either the economic or political system.  Therefore, any significant changes that takes place will produce a more just system of political and economic rewards.  Lastly, the calls are to do this within both a constitutional democracy and capitalist state.  The reality that in both countries the strongest organized presence is Islamic leads me to believe that the change may produce an Islamic State.  Thus –when the dust settles while we may see a theocracy it will yet be a democracy embracing a capitalist mode of production.