Existing in society. Revolution is one of the ways to modernize an existing society that is in a transitional stage.

At various historical periods, the geography of the revolutionary process expanded. Bourgeois revolutions in Europe spread in the following sequence: Holland - 1566-1609; England - 1640-1660; France - 1789-1794. In the 19th century, the number of revolutions increased and they spread over large areas.

A social revolution arises as a result of a situation of severe crisis, due to which such a situation is created. As a rule, the critical point occurs as a result of defeats in military operations, unsuccessful political activity government, which causes discontent among large sections of society.

Before the revolution, England was experiencing a severe financial crisis. The social situation was characterized by massive persecution of the Puritans, who opposed absolutism and fought for bourgeois reforms in order to create a new church, which was to become independent of the power of monarchs. But the opposition camp was not united and united. Among the Puritans during the revolution, three movements emerged: Presbyterians (big bourgeoisie); independents (middle and petty nobility, middle strata of the bourgeoisie); Levellers (the poorest peasantry and proletariat).

The Presbyterian movement put forward demands for limiting royal arbitrariness and establishing. They took over leading positions and held them in the period from 1640 to 1648, with the transition from the peaceful development of the revolution to civil war.

The Independents, led by Cromwell, fought for recognition of the rights and freedoms of their subjects, for the abolition of the centralization of the church and the creation of local religious communities. The result of revolutionary actions was the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Republic (1649-1653).

The Levellers put forward ideas of popular sovereignty, equality, and the proclamation of a republic. They failed to seize power, but some points of their program were accepted by the new government.

Revolutions in Europe developed as follows: from republican rule to military dictatorship, and from that to the restoration of the monarchy. So, in England it occurred in 1660, in France - in 1814-1815.

Thus, the social revolution in England led to the loss of royal power, and in France, despite maintaining its leading role, to the overthrow of absolutism.

Social revolution- the most important stage in social development, a radical revolution in the life of society, meaning the violent overthrow of the outdated social order and the establishment of a new, progressive social system. In contrast to the theorists of the liberal bourgeoisie and opportunism, who view social revolutions as an accident OR a deviation from the “normal” path, Marxism-Leninism teaches that revolutions are a necessary, natural result of the development of class society.

Revolutions complete the process of evolution, the gradual maturation in the depths of the old social system of elements or prerequisites for a new social system, the process of gradual accumulation of contradictions between the new and the old. “At a certain stage of their development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production, or - which is only the legal expression of this - with the property relations within which they have hitherto developed. From forms of development of productive forces, these relations turn into their fetters. Then comes the era social revolution»

Revolutions resolve the contradiction between new productive forces and old production relations, forcibly break obsolete production relations and open up space further development productive forces. As a result of revolutions, demands are implemented in class society (see). In order for this law to make its way, it is necessary to overcome the strongest resistance of the moribund forces of society.

In a class society, the old relations of production are consolidated by their bearers - the ruling classes, who do not want to voluntarily leave the scene, but protect the existing order by force state power, inhibiting the development of the productive forces of society. Therefore, in order to clear the way for further social development, the advanced classes of society must overthrow the existing political system.

The fundamental question of any revolution is the question of political power. The transfer of power from the hands of the ruling reactionary class, which retards the development of society, into the hands of the revolutionary class is carried out through an acute class struggle. Revolution is the highest form of class struggle.

IN revolutionary eras the spontaneous process of social development gives way to the conscious activity of people, peaceful development is replaced by a violent revolution. The millions of people who previously stood aloof from political life are rising to conscious struggle. That is why revolutionary eras always mean a tremendous acceleration of social development. Revolutions are the locomotives of history, Marx pointed out. Social revolutions should not be confused with the so-called " palace coups", "putschs", etc. The latter mean only a violent change in the top government, a change in power of individuals or groups of the same class, while the main sign of a social revolution is a revolution in everything (three societies, the transfer of power from the hands of one class into the hands of another class.

However, any violent overthrow of one class by another can be called a revolution. If a reactionary class rises up in revolt against the advanced class, if the suit is again seized by the reactionary ruling class, then this is not a revolution, but a counter-revolution. Revolution means the coming to power of an advanced, progressive class, opening the way for the further development of society.
The French Revolution of 1789 had as its task the destruction of the feudal system, which hampered the development of productive forces and clearing the ground for the development of capitalist production relations that grew on the basis of these productive forces. It was a bourgeois revolution.

The same bourgeois revolutions were revolutions in a number of European countries in 1848-1849. The revolution of 1905-07 set the same goals. And February Revolution 1917 in Russia. Their goal was to destroy the outdated autocracy and eliminate the remnants of feudalism in the economy in order to clear the way for further economic and political development countries. But these revolutions, carried out under the conditions of the imperialist stage of capitalism, differed significantly from the old bourgeois revolutions. Generalizing the new conditions in which the Russian bourgeois-democratic revolution took place, Lenin developed a new directive for the Marxist party on issues of tactics in this revolution.

Lenin showed that, unlike the old bourgeois revolutions, in which the bourgeoisie was the leading force, in the new situation the proletariat becomes the hegemon, the guiding force of the bourgeois-democratic revolution. The hegemony of the proletariat means the leading role of the proletariat in the bourgeois-democratic revolution. The proletariat exercises its hegemony by pursuing a policy of alliance with the peasantry and isolation of the liberal bourgeoisie. Lenin also developed a new position on the question of the relationship between the bourgeois-democratic revolution and the socialist revolution in the changed historical situation, substantiating the theory of the development of the bourgeois-democratic revolution into a socialist one.

The proletarian, socialist revolution is radically different from all previous revolutions. It is the greatest among revolutions, famous history, because it produces the most profound changes in the life of peoples. All revolutions of the past were, in the words of J.V. Stalin, one-sided revolutions; they led to the replacement of one form of exploitation by another form. Only a proletarian revolution, establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat - the most revolutionary class in the history of mankind, is capable of destroying all exploitation of man by man. An example of the proletarian revolution is (see).
The social revolution, which represents the deepest revolution in social development, cannot be accomplished at any moment, at the will of one or another group of revolutionaries.

It requires certain objective conditions, the totality of which Lenin called a revolutionary situation. “The fundamental law of the revolution, confirmed by all revolutions and in particular by all three Russian revolutions in the 20th century, is this: for a revolution it is not enough that the exploited and oppressed masses recognize the impossibility of living in the old way and demand change; For revolution it is necessary that the exploiters cannot live and govern in the old way.

40. Social revolution and its role in social development. Revolutionary situation and political crisis in society

The theory of social revolution plays a central role in the Marxist philosophy of historical materialism.

The theory of social revolution in Marxism is based on the dialectical law of the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones, which (transition) occurs abruptly.

Translated into social existence, historical materialism sees the effect of this law in the fact that the evolutionary development of society at some stage must undergo a revolutionary in nature, rapid change in all its aspects, and calls this “social revolution.”

Thus, a social revolution means abrupt, time-compressed, fundamental qualitative changes in society as a whole, during which the old order is negated by the new order.

Social revolution is a complex process of negation in which:

Everything that has become obsolete in society is destroyed;

Continuity is maintained between the new and old states of society;

Elements appear that were not in the old, denied state of society.

Social revolution, therefore, like any negation, is the resolution of some kind of contradiction.

In a social revolution, not just any, but the main contradiction of any social system is resolved - the contradiction between its productive forces and production relations.

At a certain stage of their development, the productive forces of society come into conflict with existing production relations. When, as a result of this contradiction, the relations of production turn into fetters for the productive forces striving to develop, there comes era of social revolution, which, solving the main contradiction, changes, first of all, economic foundations of society, that is, it changes the basis of the socio-economic formation.

With the change in the economic basis of society, that is, with a change in basis, more or less quickly a revolution is taking place in the entire enormous superstructure of the socio-economic formation.

Ultimately, a social revolution is a combination of a revolution in material production and an ideological revolution taking place in political, religious, artistic, philosophical and other spheres of life where people realize social conflict and are fighting to resolve it.

If we consider the course of human history, then social revolutions are the most important stages of social development, which not only separate one socio-economic formation from another, but also preserve the continuity of the historical movement. Without a social revolution there would be no historical movement, since no social economic formation without it it would not have been able to take the place of the previous formation.

Social revolutions, therefore, can be called an expression of the essence of the natural-historical process of social development. Being, according to Marx, inevitable, social revolutions are the law of history, its “locomotives” and ensure the replacement of one socio-economic formation with another, more progressive one, in the following order:

- primitive communal system;

- slave system;

- feudal system;

- capitalism;

- communism.

Despite all the dissimilarity and specificity of social revolutions for different countries and for different historical eras, they always have repeating essential features and processes.

This repetition is revealed in the fact that a radical break in the old formation always has its origins in the aggravation of contradictions between the productive forces and the production relations of a given society. Therefore, the social revolution takes place in the form of class struggle and, in general, social revolution is the highest stage in the development of class struggle, which has reached its greatest ferocity.

During the social revolution, the question of power is resolved, and therefore social revolution testifies, first of all, about the political crisis of a given social system, since the political stability of any society is expressed in the stability of its power.

It is the political crisis of society, if it turns into a crisis of power and is accompanied by an economic and social crisis, indicates the emergence of a revolutionary situation in society, that is, about the emergence of conditions that shape the possibility of social revolution.

Briefly, the revolutionary situation can be called a national crisis, which, according to Lenin, characterized by the following main features:

1. The impossibility of the ruling classes maintaining their dominance unchanged. That is, “the top can no longer,” although they want to live as before.

2. Exacerbation above the usual degree of need and misery of the oppressed classes. That is, “the lower classes no longer want” to live in the old way, because they cannot.

3. Significant increase in mass activity, leading to their independent historical performance.

For the victory of a social revolution, the presence of a revolutionary situation alone is not enough. It is also necessary that to these objective prerequisites for the social revolution subjective prerequisites have been added:

- the ability of the masses to fight bravely, selflessly and

- the presence of an experienced revolutionary party which exercises correct strategic and tactical leadership of the struggle of the masses.

Basic terms

BASIS(Marxism ) - a set of conditions that form the economic basis of the structure of society.

HISTORICAL MATERIALISM- Marxist doctrine of laws historical development society.

CAPITALISM- a society in which the property that determines social status and influence on government is industrial and financial capital.

CLASS STRUGGLE- irreconcilable clash of classes.

COMMUNISM(in Marxism) - a classless formation replacing capitalism, based on public ownership of the means of production.

SUPERSTRUCTURE(Marxism) - a set of spiritual culture, public relations And social institutions society.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORMATION- a certain, historically established type of society, based on one or another method of production.

NEGATION(dialectics ) - transition from old to new, preserving all the best from the old.

POLITICAL CRISIS- a state of national conflict, accompanied by the powerlessness of the authorities to lead society.

PRODUCTIVE FORCES- a set of tools, technologies, transport, premises, objects of labor, etc. used in production, and people as carriers of knowledge, skills, skills, and production experience.

RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION- relationships between people in the production process.

CONTRADICTION- a moment of constant opposing interaction of opposites.

SLAVE OWNERSHIP- a society in which slaves are the main economic property.

REVOLUTION- a complete and sudden radical revolution in the state and social structure.

JUMP- the process of a radical change in existing quality and the birth of a new quality as a result of the accumulation of quantitative changes.

SOCIAL REVOLUTION- sharp, time-compressed radical qualitative changes in society as a whole.

FEUDALAL STORY- a society in which property, which determines social status and influence on power is the land and the people attached to it.

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5. Social revolution

The concept of social revolution Social revolution means a profound revolution in the socio-political, economic, and spiritual life of society, when, first of all, a transition is carried out from one socio-economic formation to another, more progressive one. Revolution is the engine of social progress: it is both destruction and creativity, it marks the beginning of a new period of history, which requires new thoughts, feelings, songs and singers. It is a historical necessity rooted in the economic life of society. The deepest cause of social revolutions is the conflict between productive forces and production relations. It constitutes the so-called economic basis of the revolution.

The fact that social revolutions are not accidental, but natural phenomenon, which follows with objective necessity from the development of production, does not mean that they occur automatically. For their implementation, objective and subjective prerequisites are necessary. Objective contradictions in the mode of production are manifested in the fierce struggle between progressive and reactionary classes. Class struggle is the political basis of revolution. The subjective form of expression of this struggle is the clash of class interests, aspirations, and ideas. Social revolution - highest form class struggle of the oppressed. The totality of objective conditions expressing the economic and political crisis of society creates a revolutionary situation. The following signs are characteristic of a revolutionary situation: “The impossibility of the ruling classes maintaining their dominance unchanged: one or another crisis of the “tops”, a crisis of the policy of the ruling class, creating a crack into which the discontent and indignation of the oppressed classes breaks through. For the onset of a revolution, this is usually not enough , so that “the lower classes do not want”, but what is also required is that the “upper classes cannot” live in the old way... An aggravation, higher than usual, of the needs and misfortunes of the oppressed classes... A significant increase... in the activity of the masses, in a “peaceful” era of those who allow themselves to be plundered calmly, and in turbulent times are attracted, both by the entire situation of crisis and by the “tops” themselves, to independent historical action. Without these objective changes, independent of the will of not only individual groups and parties, but also individual classes, revolution - By general rule- impossible" (Lenin V.I. Pili. collected works, vol. 26, pp. 218-219.).

But not every revolutionary situation leads to revolution. Revolutions break out only when subjective conditions are added to objective conditions. The subjective factor includes the will to fight, the skillful organization of this struggle, the consciousness of all participants, comprehension of the goals and objectives of the struggle, the determination of the fighting classes to bring the struggle to the end. In the presence of objective prerequisites, the subjective factor acquires decisive importance: the old government itself will not “fall if it is not dropped.”

The driving forces of the revolution are those social groups and classes that are vitally interested in breaking down old orders, in building new ones, and who are making a revolution. One of these classes plays a particularly active role: it carries with it all the other classes and social groups participating in the revolution.

If during relatively peaceful periods of history the masses are, as it were, behind the scenes of politics, being in a state of “historical hibernation,” then in the midst of revolutionary events, the people rise to the forefront of world history and act as creators of the new.

The main question of any revolution is the question of state power. When the fire of revolution flares up, its flame is primarily directed against the main guardian of the old world - the state. “The transfer of state power from the hands of one class to the hands of another is the first, main, fundamental sign of revolution, both in the strictly scientific and practical political meaning of this concept.” Having taken political power into their own hands, the new classes carrying out the revolution, reorganize the entire mechanism of the socio-political life of society: new organs of the revolution are born in its own fire. The seizure of power by revolutionary forces is an act of carrying out a political revolution. This is a revolution in the narrow sense of the word. The concept of a social revolution in a broad sense is, as already said, radical transformations in all spheres of public life.

Social revolutions are characterized by varying degrees of spontaneity and consciousness. In the process of transition from the primitive communal system to the slaveholding system, and from it to the feudal one, revolutions took place mainly spontaneously and were expressed in separate, usually local, mass movements and uprisings. Bourgeois revolutions that broke the foundations of feudalism are acquiring a more conscious, organized character: here the conscious activity of political parties and organizations, which have a certain ideology among their prerequisites, plays an increasingly important role. The principle of consciousness rises to highest level in the era of socialist revolutions, taking place as a theoretically, tactically and strategically sound, natural social process of transition from capitalism to socialism.

Social revolution is fundamentally different from social reform: the latter is aimed, as a rule, only at partial transformations within the framework of the existence of a given system. “But this opposition is not absolute, this line is not dead, but a living, moving line, which one must be able to determine in each individual specific case” (Lenin V.I. Poln. sobr. soch.. vol. 31. p. 133. There same. vol. 20. p. 167). The experience of history shows that reforms are by no means contraindicated for social progress.

6. Types of social revolutions The type of social revolution is determined by what socio-political contradictions it resolves, what social system it overthrows and what it creates anew. This content expresses an understanding of revolution in the broad sense of the word - as a transition from one qualitative state of society to another (which is accomplished both through armed actions of the masses, and not necessarily in this way, but as the cumulative result of the action of many different factors of social life). This type of revolution can include, for example, the transition of society from slavery to feudalism, from feudalism to capitalism, that is, in general, the transition from one socio-economic formation to another. Thus, the social revolution was the transition from slavery to feudalism as a result of the resolution of the internal contradictions of the slave-owning mode of production, although it did not have the character of a political revolution.

A fundamentally different type is represented by revolutions in which socio-political motives play a leading role. These revolutions also contribute to the replacement of one socio-economic formation by another, but they are carried out through violent actions of one class against another. And these actions are carried out on the basis theoretical program, promoting certain socio-political goals and ideals. This type includes bourgeois and socialist revolutions. A special type of social revolution that ultimately contributes to the implementation of both of these revolutions should include revolutions that affect one or another separate sphere of social life. This includes scientific, technological, cultural revolutions, etc. All of them are necessary components indicated types of revolution.

Higher type revolution is a socialist revolution, which has as its goal radical transformations of society in the interests of the working people. It differs from previous social revolutions in that if previous revolutions were limited to changing political power, bringing it into line with the new economic relations that had already arisen, then the socialist revolution is characterized primarily by a creative principle: its highest purpose is the establishment of public ownership of the means of production, socialist production relationships.

Both for generalizing evaluative conclusions and for predictive considerations. Practice confirmed everything that he had previously foreseen theoretically. Marxism V.I. Lenin as a version in the interpretation of Marx's ideological heritage. A) Revolutionary activities Lenin. Lenin - the largest revolutionary of the 20th century, initiator and leader October revolution in Russia, founder of the Soviet state and international...

There was an earlier development of social thought: German classical philosophy, classical English political economy and French utopian socialism. Chapter 2. Development of the philosophy of Marxism and the main works of Marx. Already at the very beginning of his creative activity (shortly after receiving his Ph.D. degree), Marx recognized the defense of...

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Legal and political institutions, as well as religious, philosophical and other views of each given historical period. Hegel freed understanding from metaphysics, he made it dialectical, but his understanding of history was essentially idealistic. Now idealism has been banished from the understanding of history; Now the understanding of history has become materialistic, and a way has been found for explanation...

SOCIAL REVOLUTION (Latin revolutio - turn, change) - a radical revolution in the life of society, meaning the overthrow of an outdated one and the establishment of a new, progressive social system; a form of transition from one socio-economic formation to another. The experience of history shows that it would be incorrect to consider R. with. like an accident. R. is a necessary, natural result of the natural historical development of antagonistic formations. R.s. completes the process of evolution, the gradual maturation in the depths of the old society of elements or prerequisites for a new social system; resolves the contradiction between new productive forces and old production relations, breaks down obsolete production relations and the political superstructure that consolidates these relations, and opens up space for the further development of productive forces. The old relations of production are supported by their bearers - the ruling classes, who protect the outdated order by the force of state power. Therefore, in order to clear the way for social development, advanced forces must overthrow the existing political system. The main question of any R. s. is the question of political power. “The transfer of state power from the hands of one class to the hands of another is the first, main, fundamental sign of revolution, both in the strictly scientific and in the practical political meaning of this concept” (Lenin V.I.T. 31. P. 133). Revolution is the highest form of class struggle. In revolutionary eras, the broad masses of the people, who previously stood aloof from political life, rise to conscious struggle. That is why revolutionary eras mean a tremendous acceleration of social development. R. cannot be mixed with the so-called. palace coups, putschs, etc. The latter are only a violent change in the top government, a change in power of individuals or groups, which does not change its essence. The question of power does not exhaust the content of R. s. In the broadest sense of the word, it includes all those social transformations that are carried out by the revolutionary class. Character of R. s. determined by what tasks they carry out and what social forces are involved in them. In each individual country, the possibilities for the emergence and development of R. depend on a number of objective conditions, as well as on the degree of maturity of the subjective factor. A qualitatively unique type of R. s. represents the socialist revolution. The aggravation of the uneven economic and political development of capitalist countries leads to the divergence of socialist revolutions. in various countries. From this follows the inevitability of an entire historical era of revolutions, the beginning of which was laid by the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia. After World War II, socialist revolutions occurred in Europe, Asia, and Latvia. America. Along with the international labor movement great value in this era they acquire national liberation R., various kinds of mass democratic movements. All these forces in their unity constitute the world revolutionary process. Under socialism, revolutionary transformations of all aspects of social life are possible in the interests of its qualitative renewal, an example of which is the perestroika taking place in the USSR. Perestroika in our country has the characteristics of a peaceful, non-violent revolution. It also includes radical reforms, demonstrating their dialectical unity.

Philosophical Dictionary. Ed. I.T. Frolova. M., 1991, p. 386-387.