I found this week very interesting, particularly looking at the different aspects and parts that make up a revolutionary movement. I thought Dawson’s analysis of the revolutions, that the socio-economic, and political movements in Latin America did not actually distribute the gains equally across the different populations. After reading into this conclusion it is easier to understand how Latin America has struggled to develop due to the lack of development from the numerous revolutionary movements that took place. It is fascinating to see another example of Latin America’s current socio-political climate being a direct product of historical incidents.
Another aspect of Dawson’s analysis on revolutions that interested me was his idea that in order to change the present day conditions, the groundwork of the past needs to be altered. I think this idea of Dawson’s relates to a lot of what we have been looking at in regards to Latin America, in the context that the notion of ‘Latin America’ is an ideological construct rather than anything geographical or concrete. Moreover, going off of this, during this time when revolutionary parties were emerging, it was a crucial factor that the essential middle class did not side with many of these revolutionists. The lack of support and mobilization of such a large group meant that the long-term would always look bleak for any revolutionary hopefuls.
My main question after this week’s readings would be based on what exactly the definitions of a successful revolution are? And who institutionalizes revolutions as a success or failure?
Thanks for reading,
Antonin
That’s a hard question! My guess is that history is the best judge in these cases – if the group starting the revolution manages to stay in power and make actual change, I think it would be considered a successful revolution, whereas if the group wasn’t able to implement their vision for the country, it would be considered a failure.
I think the definitions of a successful revolution are extremely subjective because different individuals with different perspectives would obviously have various diverse definitions of what they consider to be a ‘successful revolution’. Personally, how I would define a successful revolution is whether the revolution achieved the goals that it had set out to do, whether it be changing/overthrowing a government to replace it with a better one or to break down the social hierarchy, etc. As for who institutionalizes whether a particular revolution is to be told as a success or a failure, I think it is the people in power. “History is written by the victors” is definitely a phrase that is relevant here because the perspectives that are told are usually the ones that hold influence within society, even if they only represent a small part of a much larger story they often become the story. For this reason, I think it’s important not to take any one account as true but rather to seek out different (and even contradicting) points of view.
You bring an interesting point about Latin America being a product f historical incidents. I agree very much with this, what we have seen is a reproduction of institutions and ideas which have repercussions into how Latin America is shaped today.
Another interesting point you make is about revolutions and the changes they bring about. The definition of a successful revolution is very dependent on the group you ask and whether or not the goals of the revolution are universal. Most of the time they are not and they depend on a particular group in society that is trying to bring about a goal that is geared towards their own interests.
Thanks for sharing what interested you this week with us, I enjoyed your post. I definitely think that the success of a revolution is marked by the people’s happiness once they are ‘done’ the revolution. In the first place, I think that there needs to be an end to the revolution in the first place. At many times the revolutions continue on for decades..so I personally would not consider it successful in itself. Definitely a hard question to answer though!
Thanks for the great blog! The questions you asked at the end was very interesting, and had me thinking for a while. I don’t believe there is such a thing as a successful revolution, as no matter what it will always spread an impact that is felt differently by varying groups.