• Grandwolf319
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    6 months ago

    So how about something like the French Revolution that gave us the modern napoleonic code and served as a basis for secular government?

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      Well first, I think it depends on your perspective. The French revolution and the 1rst Republic were overthrown by Napoleon. While Napoleon was one of the more liberal dictators, he was still an agent of some pretty terrible imperialism.

      Secondly, there’s a reason why I specified post industrial societies. The most successful leftist governments had the advantage of being able to industrialize their nations. Being able to increase the power of a centralized government while simultaneously improving the quality of life of its citizens is one of the more powerful carrots in the revolutionary arsenal.

      • Grandwolf319
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        6 months ago

        Oh so your basically saying revolution style changes are kind of not possible in an industrialized society?

        Hmmm, I disagree but that’s a fair point.

        • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          Not necessarily, just that post industrialized nations tend to swing harder right when people begin to lose faith in the democratic process.

          I think part of that is due to the lack of strong mutual aid groups and worker organizations that industrialization creates as a byproduct.

          If we look at revolutionary movements in the 20th century for the most part the industrialized nations were the ones who were overtaken by fascism, while unindustrialized countries like Russia and China transitioned to socialism.

          It was one of the wildcards that early socialist didn’t really forsee, which is why everyone was so surprised that the first revolution to succeed was in Russia instead of Germany.