Revolution
The Theory & Practice of a European Idea
edited by Krishan Kumar
Since
the end of the eighteenth century, revolution has been a central phenomenon
of modern history, a formative experience of almost every modern nation. Krishan
Kumar provides an original and provocative introduction to the study of this
experience, including writings by revolutionary actors and theorists and his
own essay on the nature of revolution.
Borrowing a concept from art history, Mr. Kumar argues in his essay for an interpretation of revolution as a change of political 'style', and attempts to substantiate this by studying the theory and practice of European revolutions. This involves a discussion of the general causes and processes of revolution, with particular reference to those of France and Russia, and an examination of the unexpected fate of revolutions in Europe and in the Third World.
In the readings Mr. Kumar concentrates mainly on theoretical analyses of revolution, and presents a selection of the great theoreticians and abservers of revolution: Marx, Tocqueville, Lenin, Sorel, Rosa Luxemburg, Marcuse, Mao Tse-tung. The focus again is on the European experience, but the collection includes some writing on contemporary revolution; and the readings are arranged so as to bring out the major themes of the introductory essay.
The essay and the readings together provide a valuable intorduction to the crucial experience of revolution, in theory and in practice.
More books by Krishan Kumar
From
Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: Second Edition
Utopia and Anti-Utopia in
Modern Times
1989 Revolutionary Ideas
& Ideals
Prophecy
& Progress: The Sociology of Industrial & Post-Industrial Society
Dilemmas
of Liberal Democracies: Studies in Fred Hirsch's Social Limits to Growth
The
Rise of Modern Society: Aspects of the Social & Political Development of
the West
Utopianism
Utopias and the Millennium
Public & Private
in Thought & Practice
The Making of English
National Identity