Bourgeois revolution is a term used inMarxist theory to refer to asocial revolution that aims to destroy afeudal system or its vestiges, establish the rule of thebourgeoisie, and create acapitalist state.[1][2] In colonised or subjugated countries, bourgeois revolutions often take the form of a war of nationalindependence. TheDutch,English,American, andFrench 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 ofcapitalism.[1] The term is usually used in contrast to "proletarian revolution", and is also sometimes called a "bourgeois-democratic revolution".[5][6]
Starting in the late 18th century, theBildungsbürger ("educated bourgeoise") class defined itself more on the basis of education than material possessions and thus great emphasis was laid upon the education of children.
According to one version of thetwo-stage theory, bourgeois revolution was asserted to be a necessary step in the move towardsocialism, as codified byGeorgi Plekhanov.[7][8] In this view, countries like theRussian Empire that had preserved their feudal structure would have to establish capitalism via a bourgeois revolution before being able to wage a proletarian revolution.[9][10] At the time of theRussian Revolution, theMensheviks asserted this theory, arguing that a revolution led by the bourgeoisie was necessary to modernise society, establish basic freedoms, and overcome feudalism, which would establish the conditions necessary for socialism.[9] This view is prominent inMarxist–Leninist analysis.[11][12]
Political sociologistBarrington Moore Jr. identified the bourgeois revolution as one of three routes from pre-industrial society to the modern world, in which a capitalist mode of production is combined with liberal democracy. Moore identified the English, French, and American revolutions as examples of this route.[13]
HistorianNeil Davidson believes that neither the establishment of democracy or the end of feudal relations are defining characteristics of bourgeois revolutions but instead supportsAlex Callinicos' definition of bourgeois revolution as being those that establish "an independent center ofcapital accumulation".[6][14][15] Charles Post labels this analysis asconsequentialism, where there is no requirement of the prior development of capitalism or bourgeois class agency for bourgeois revolutions, and that they are only defined by the effects of the revolutions to promote the development of capital accumulation.[16]
Other theories describe the evolution of the bourgeoisie as not needing a revolution.[17] TheGerman bourgeoisie during the1848 revolution did not strive to take command of the political effort and instead sided with the crown.[18][19] Davidson attributes their behaviour to the late development of capitalist relations and uses this as the model for the evolution of the bourgeoisie.[20]
The first wave of bourgeois revolutions are those that occurred within theearly modern period and were typically marked by being driven from below by thepetty bourgeoisie againstabsolutist governments.[6]
German Peasants' War (1524–1525); also labelled by later historians as an early attempt at a bourgeois revolution[36]
1911 battle at Ta-ping gate, Nanking, during the1911 Revolution in a painting by T. Miyano
The second wave of bourgeois revolutions are those that occurred within thelate modern period and were typically marked by being led from above by thehaute bourgeoisie.[6]
^Davidson, Neil (2012). "Marx and Engels (2) 1847–52".How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions?. Chicago, Illinois:Haymarket Books. p. 144.ISBN978-1-60846-067-0.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.
^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.
^Genkina, Esfir Borisovna[in Russian] (1927).Pokrovsky, Mikhail Nikolaevich[in Russian] (ed.).Fevral'skiy perevorot // Ocherki po istorii Oktyabr'skoy revolyutsiiФевральский переворот // Очерки по истории Октябрьской революции [The February coup // Essays on the history of the October Revolution] (in Russian). Vol. 2.
^Hoxha, Enver (1984).Reflections on the Middle East(PDF). pp. 254,265–266 – viaMarxists Internet Archive.(254) From information we receive and the reports of news agencies which I read regularly, it is clear that regardless of the Islamic slogans which are used to show that the religious spirit is allegedly predominant in it, the Iranian revolution is an anti-feudal and anti-imperialist popular revolution. ... (265–266) The control of the situation has not slipped out of Khomeini's hands, but with the overthrow of the monarchy of the Pahlavis, with the liquidation of this mediaeval monarchy, the evolution in Iran has brought to the fore elements more organized, more radical, more progressive than Khomeini, elements who are operating for a democratic, bourgeois Iran with considerable rights. But we shall see to what extent they will achieve this aim.
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German Peasants' War (1524–1525); also labelled by later historians as an early attempt at a bourgeois revolution[36]
Eighty Years' War (1566–1648); also known as the Dutch revolution[3][37]
English Revolution (1640–1660)[3][4][6]
American Revolution (1765–1783)[3][6]
French Revolution (1789–1799)[38][3]
Irish Rebellion of 1798[39]
Greek Revolution (1821–1829)[40]
July Revolution (1830)[41]
February Revolution (1848)[42][43]
German revolutions of 1848–1849[44]
Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states[45][43]
Hungarian Revolution of 1848[45][46]
Risorgimento (1848–1871)[47]
Unification of Germany (1866–1871)[47]
American Civil War (1861–1865)[48]
Japanese Revolution (1868–1869)[49][47]
Philippine Revolution (1896–1898)[50]
1905 Russian Revolution (1905–1907)[51][6]
Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911)[52]
Young Turk Revolution (1908)[53]
Chinese revolution of 1911 (1911–1912)[54][6]
Mexican Revolution (1910–1917)[55]
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Chinese revolution (1927–1949)[58][21]
Iranian Revolution (1978–1979); according toEnver Hoxha[59]
