Chapter VIII - Ideas, Ideals of Revolution

Chapter VIII

Ideas, Ideals of Revolution

Questions to be Answered!

How should we understand the term revolution?

What is Rizal’s stand on revolution?

ETYMOLOGY

The term revolution comes from the Latin word revolutio which means “a turnaround”.

 EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT

Revolution ALWAYS describes change but

NOT ALL change can be described as revolution.

CHARACTERISTICS

There is great speed of change and/orThere is great extent of change

ORThere is a great number of people affected and/orThere is great degree to which people and their lives are affected by change

Classical scholar Alexis de Tocqueville differentiated between

1) Political revolutions;2) Sudden and violent revolutions that seek not only to establish a new political system but to transform an entire society; and3) Slow but sweeping transformations of the entire society that take several generations to bring about (ex. religion).

Charles Tilly, a modern scholar of revolutions, coined the term

“great revolution" (revolutions that transform

economic and social structures as well as political institutions).

ARTISTS (sculptors, painters, orators, architects, writers, and historians) are breeders of revolutionary ideas, and they express

their message through their works.

In the Philippine setting…Luna and Felix Hidalgo put across their message through paintings.DR. JOSE RIZAL is the soul of the Katipunan because of his two novels, essays, poems and speeches such as Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, Annotation to Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, Filipinas dentro de Cien Anos (The Philippines A Hundred Years from Now .He is the inspiration of Andres Bonifacio.

DIFFERENCE TO OTHER SIMILAR TERMS

Insurrection - the act or an instance of open revolt against civil authority

or a constituted government. Revolt - a single uprising or act of

protest or rejection especially against state authority.

Rebellion - organized massive attempt to overthrow a government or

other authority by the use of violence, but there is no change in ideology.

Peter Calvert in A Study of Revolution, Oxford University Press, 1970, starts with a definition of POLITICAL REVOLUTION as ‘a complete overthrow of the established government of a country or state by those who were previously subject to it; a forcible substitution of a new ruler or form of government’.

Aristotle described two types of political revolution: Complete change from

one constitution to another

Modification of an existing constitution

CONCLUSIONS

A society which urbanised and industrialised quickly, such as

Stalin's Russia during collectivisation, is justly

described as having undergone a SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC

REVOLUTION.

French Revolution of 1789, Russian Revolution of 1917, or Islamic Revolution of Iran were all considered

as GREAT REVOLUTIONS.

People Power I during Marcos’ Regime and II

during Erap’s administration can be

identified as POLITICAL REVOLUTION.

The bloody movement and uprising initiated by the Katipunan lead by Andres Bonifacio was

merely a REBELLION.

How about the waving of Philippine Flag in Cavite during

the Declaration of Independence?

It was definitely NOT an evidence of the

occurrence of a GREAT REVOLUTION.

It was a proof for a POLITICAL REVOLUTION as per defined by

Aristotle, nevertheless falls contradictory according to the definition of Peter Calvert since

it was not FORCIBLE

It was a merely a transition of or a SOCIAL

CHANGE and not ECONIMIC

RIZAL’S STAND ON REVOLUTION

They lacked funds, men and ammunitions.

Membership was strong among the poor and the uneducated.

There was insufficient backing from the rich families.

They lacked military strategies. Here was a need to organize

cohesive and disciplined troops.

END