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Socially revolutionary. Social revolution. Social evolution and revolution as social conflict

SOCIAL REVOLUTION (lat. Revolutio - turn, change) - a radical revolution in the life of society, meaning the overthrow of the obsolete and the establishment of a new, progressive social system; the form of transition from one socio-economic formation to another. The experience of history shows that it would be wrong to consider the social and economic formation. as an accident. R. is a necessary, natural result of the natural-historical development of antagonistic formations. R. s. completes the process of evolution, the gradual maturation in the depths of the old society of the elements or preconditions of the new social order; resolves the contradiction between the new productive forces and the old relations of production, breaks down the obsolete production relations and the political superstructure that consolidates these relations, opens up space further development productive forces. The old industrial relations are supported by their bearers - the ruling classes, which protect the obsolete order by the force of state power. Therefore, in order to clear the way for social development, advanced forces must overthrow the existing state system. The main question of any R. of page. is the question of political power. "The transfer of state power from the hands of one to the hands of another class is the first, main, basic sign of the revolution in both the strictly scientific and practical political meaning of this concept" (Lenin V. I. T. 31, p. 133). R. is the highest form of class struggle. In revolutionary epochs, the broad masses of the people, who previously stood aloof from political life, rise to a conscious struggle. That is why revolutionary epochs mean a tremendous acceleration of social development. R. cannot be confused with the so-called. palace coups, coups, etc. The latter are only a violent change in the government elite, a change in power of individuals or groups that does not change its essence. The question of power does not exhaust the content of R. s. In the broadest sense of the word, it includes all those social transformations carried out by the revolutionary class. R.'s character with. is determined by what tasks they carry out and what social forces are involved in them. In each individual country, the possibilities for the emergence and development of R. depend on a number of objective conditions, as well as on the degree of maturity of the subjective factor. A qualitatively unique type of R. of page. represents the socialist revolution. The exacerbation of the unevenness of the economic and political development of the capitalist countries leads to the difference in the timing of socialist R. in different countries. This implies the inevitability of an entire historical era of revolutions, which began with the Great October Socialist R. in Russia. After World War II, socialist revolutions took place in Europe, Asia, and Lat. America. Along with the international workers' movement, national liberation R., different kinds mass democratic movements. All these forces, in their unity, constitute the world revolutionary process. Under the conditions of socialism, revolutionary transformations of all aspects of social life are possible in the interests of its qualitative renewal, an example of which is the perestroika taking place in the USSR. Perestroika in our country has the characteristics of a peaceful, non-violent R. It also includes radical reforms, demonstrating their dialectical unity.

Philosophical Dictionary. Ed. I.T. Frolov. M., 1991, p. 386-387.

Definition 1

In modern scientific literature, social revolution is understood as a sharp change in the social system, mainly by force, with the participation of large masses of the people; abrupt qualitative change in the development of social phenomena, processes; a way of transition from one phase of social development to another.

At its core, a revolution is a complex social phenomenon that has a contradictory paradoxical character: on the one hand, it contributes to progressive social development by removing social contradictions, overcoming social conflicts; on the other hand, it acts as a kind of social "earthquake", an extreme degree of aggravation of all existing social contradictions up to open civil confrontation.

Essential signs of social revolutions

The following can be named as the main essential features that distinguish a social revolution from other socio-political changes:

  • mass social movements are always involved in a revolution;
  • revolution necessarily leads to large-scale changes and reforms;
  • a revolution presupposes the threat of violence by members of mass movements.

These signs distinguish a revolution from a coup d'état, which consists in the replacement of some ruling elites by others without significant changes in the system of power and political institutions.

Causes of social revolutions

The following can be named as the main causes of social upheaval:

  • an increase in the basic needs of the population in the absence of opportunities for their minimum satisfaction;
  • the formation in the majority of the population of an urgent need for large-scale political and social reform;
  • inability, inability or unwillingness of the power structures to peacefully resolve this formed need;
  • loss by power structures of the ability to act, control law enforcement agencies;
  • complete fall of the authority of the authorities.

The main goal of the social revolution is to change the system of production relations, the socio-economic conditions of the existence of society, the result of which is a complete renewal of the entire society.

Change of power as an essential feature of the revolution

The issue of the transition of state power to revolutionary forces is a key aspect of any social revolution. Taking into account the fact that the basis of the exacerbation of social confrontation, as a rule, is the clash of socio-political interests, the conquest of political power is the most important instrument for achieving socio-economic domination. In other words, the conquest of political power is a means of legal and political consolidation of a new system of socio-economic relations.

In the most general form, two forms of power transition are distinguished:

  • single entry;
  • gradual.

In turn, there are two main forms of a one-time transfer of power:

  • legitimate - one-time without armed confrontation;
  • once in the form of an armed struggle - the seizure of power as a result of a military coup or an armed uprising.

The gradual transfer of power is represented by the following forms:

  • degeneration of a functioning government - a gradual transition without armed war;
  • gradual in the form of armed struggle - civil war.

It should be noted that a social revolution can be carried out in any of the above ways.

Remark 1

Thus, social revolutions represent deep, ontological transformations of every aspect of the life of society, including the change of power elites, the system of production interactions, which are often violent, and involve mass social movements in opposition.

a method of progressive transformation of society, meaning a break in the gradualness in its development, a natural leap from one qualitative state to a new one, prepared by the previous evolution of a given society. S. p. there are two kinds of interformational and intraformational. Interformational S. p. represents a way of transition from a lower socio-economic formation to a higher one and the grandiose process of this transition itself, which takes an entire epoch. History knows four main types of such revolutions: slave, feudal, bourgeois and socialist. Intraformational S. p. there is a way and a process of society's transition from one qualitative state to another within the same formation, an abrupt change of stages in its development, a periodic ascent to a higher level. Capitalism has gone through at least two intraformational revolutions: the pre-monopoly one has grown into a monopoly one, and the last one into a state-monopoly one and is in the process of another deep transformation. To the category of intraformational S. p. the radical restructuring that socialism is undergoing. Any S. p. has an economic, social, political, spiritual and ideological basis. The deepest economic foundation of any S. r. there is a conflict between the grown productive forces and outdated social (primarily production) relations, when the existing order in society ceases to stimulate people to efficiently use and further develop the existing productive forces. The social basis of the revolution is those classes and social groups that, according to their objective position in society, are interested in it, strive and are able to implement it. They are her driving forces... The political basis of S. r. is the inability of the current system of state power and administration to constructively solve objectively pressing problems. Spiritual and ideological basis of S. r. consists in the understanding by the masses of the incompatibility of their interests with the existing state of affairs. The totality of these phenomena serves as an unmistakable syndrome of the need for a radical revolutionary reorganization of society. The revolutionary character of perestroika is evidenced by the scale and depth of the reforms that have begun in all spheres of social life. State property, which to a large extent acted as anonymous, "ownerless", is "denationalized." To the extent that state property remains objectively necessary, it undergoes significant transformations. Differentiating into all-Union, republican and municipal, state property finally acquires concrete and, therefore, responsible and zealous owners. Previously disenfranchised manufacturing enterprises are now turning into self-governing labor collectives owning property. Along with this, revolutionary restructuring gives rise to fundamentally new types and forms of ownership that are inconceivable under the conditions of the undivided domination of the administrative-command system. On their basis, the socio-economic strata of cooperators, tenants, shareholders, family and individual owners, all kinds of their associations are formed, which unrecognizably transforms the social structure of society. Diverse social organizations and movements are growing. Under the influence of all these new formations, cardinal changes are taking place in the political system of society: it turns into a system of real democracy. In the spiritual and ideological sphere, the changes are so dramatic that they led to new thinking. The correspondence of a subjective factor to objective conditions is the basic law of S. p. The role of the subjective factor consists both in the fact that, on the basis of the most adequate knowledge of the objective conditions, not to miss the chance of realizing self-education, when the objective prerequisites for it are fully ripe, and in warning the masses against revolution, if such prerequisites do not yet exist. Before their ripening S. p. adventurous, destructive, catastrophic. Stalinism completely ignored the question of the price of the revolution. Meanwhile, this is the main issue that predetermines its success or failure. Price S. p. there must always be immeasurably less deprivation from which it relieves the masses of the people. Otherwise, the revolution will inevitably run into their own resistance and drown in blood. Optimal is the course of S. r., When the maturation of objective conditions for qualitative changes in society, the awareness of these conditions and the very implementation of the urgent changes proceed in a single rhythm. Synchronization is provided by revolutionary reforms. Revolutionary reforms differ from ordinary reforms as partial, insignificant transformations of certain aspects of public life on the initiative and in the interests of the predominantly ruling circles in that they affect society as a whole, in its foundations, are carried out in the form of a package of major measures of a fundamental nature and are implemented under the influence of decisive and organized, purposeful movement of the masses. Such reforms, being in terms of the content of social conflicts, exclude armed forms of resolving social contradictions. Moreover, reformation revolutions do not imply compulsory violence on a massive scale, even in peaceful forms. Understanding of the general perniciousness of rampant violence in any form serves as a deterrent. When resolving the most acute conflicts "top" and "bottom", various social groups do not resort to violence, but to social compromise. Real experience of this kind, although by no means consistent and perfect in everything, has been accumulated by the Social-Democratic workers' movement. K. Marx foresaw the coming of the time when "social evolution will cease to be political revolutions" (K. Marx, F. Engels // Works. 2nd ed. T. 4. P. 185), referring it to the communist society. This time has come earlier. However, S. p. through radical reforms are possible not in all modern societies, but only in democratically organized ones. In the conditions of totalitarian societies S. r. are still doomed to occur in the form of explosions, cataclysms. S. p. K. Marx called the locomotives of history. The acceleration of social development in the process of revolutions occurs for two main reasons. First, revolutions solve not ordinary, but major, historically urgent tasks of a turning character. Secondly, in the solution of these epoch-making tasks, the direct actor is the masses, whose creative activity is incomparable with any other force both in crushing outdated social orders and in creating new ones. On Wednesday. there is a coincidence of a radical change in life circumstances with a radical change in the people themselves. Therefore, a revolution creates people in the same way that people create a revolution.

With the emergence of classes and the class struggle, such a phenomenon as the social revolution enters the history of society. Revolution is the highest and most acute form of struggle of the progressive classes against obsolete social relations that hinder the social development of social relations and their carriers - reactionary classes and social groups. Since the existence of classes and the struggle between them are objective and natural, social revolutions are also objective and natural.

Social revolution means a radical qualitative revolution in the development of society. All classes and social groups existing in a given society, hundreds of thousands and millions of people defending their fundamental interests are drawn into its whirlpool. That is why in the field of theory there are so many different views on the issues of revolution, the struggle is so acute and irreconcilable between those who substantiate the right to revolution and those who deny this right. That is why it is so important from a scientific and political point of view to understand all those complex and politically acute problems that relate to the theory of social revolution.

Social revolution is a radical qualitative change in the social system, the transition from one socio-economic formation to another, higher one.

In the economic sphere, the social revolution abolishes the old production relations, the old form of ownership of instruments and means of production and creates new production relations, a new economic system with much higher incentives and rates of development than the previous one.

In the sphere of social relations, one class, “in charge” of the old mode of economy, is being replaced by a new class that grows and develops, while the overthrown class loses its strength and gradually leaves the historical arena. One

the form of exploitation of man by man is replaced by another, more disguised and refined, or the exploitation of people is abolished altogether, as is the case during the socialist revolution.

F. Engels said: "... revolution is the highest act of politics ..." ... "The transfer of state power from one person to another class there is the first, main, main sign revolution both in the strictly scientific and in the practical-political meaning of this concept ”2, - wrote V. I. Lenin. It is about the class, and not about a narrow group of conspirators. Otherwise, one can only speak of a summit coup, and not of a real revolution. If the revolutionary class does not manage to immediately consolidate its victory and it temporarily loses political power, which is again seized by the exploiting class, then there is a counter-revolution, the restoration of the old order.


Substantial changes take place in the course of the revolution and in the ideological superstructure. The progressive class, represented by its ideologists, began ideological preparation and substantiation of the revolution long before the political upheaval. The Revolution embodies the ideas and theories of this class; they become dominant. Old ideas and theories are either abolished or modified and used in accordance with the interests and needs of the new ruling class.

The objective basis and, consequently, the regularity of the revolution are rooted in the very development of material production, in those contradictions and conflicts that grow in the depths of a revolutionizing society. First of all, it is a conflict between the new productive forces and outdated, outdated production relations that restrain the development of production. K. Marx emphasized that at a certain stage these relations from forms of development of production turn into its shackles, then the era of social revolution begins. This basic contradiction acts as the main reason for the social revolution. It, this contradiction, finds its manifestation in the antagonism of the interests of the main classes of society and in their struggle for the possession of political power.

1 Marx K., Engels F. Works, v. 17, p. 421.

2 Lenin V.I. Poly. collection op, vol. 31, p. 133.

The conflict that has arisen between the productive forces and production relations, the entire political and legal superstructure of society can be resolved only through a social "revolution. Therefore, the views of many non-Marxist ideologists of the West, who believe that fundamental socio-political transformations in modern conditions can be carried out through gradual, slow changes, are untenable. the existing system, through reforms.

Revolutions differ in nature and driving forces. The nature of the revolution is determined by what goals and objectives it sets, what production and political relations it eliminates and for the development of which it creates space, how widely the masses take part in it. The driving forces of the revolution are those classes and social groups that carry out the revolution, fight for the elimination of the political power of the reactionary classes. If broad masses of working people take part in a revolutionary struggle, then such revolutions are qualified as popular, democratic revolutions.

Depending on the nature and driving forces, the following types of revolutions are distinguished. "

A bourgeois revolution is a revolution directed against the feudal order, with the aim of eliminating feudal production relations, depriving the feudal lords of political power, ensuring the victory of bourgeois production relations, and establishing the power of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeois class was the guiding force of this revolution. The already emerging, but still, politically weak proletariat also took part in it. The feudal system was undermined by spontaneous peasant revolts and uprisings. Bourgeois revolutions were not of a truly mass character, for the fundamental goals of the bourgeoisie were mostly alien to the working people, since it replaced one form of exploitation of man by another form.

The bourgeois democratic revolution is a revolution of that era, which was already beginning to reveal the historical limitations of bourgeois society. And although it pursued the same goal as any bourgeois revolution, that is, the elimination of feudal and the establishment of bourgeois order, the broad participation of the masses in it, their demands left their mark on it. These are revolutions that decisively and consistently break the obsolete order, in some cases go further.

1 We are not talking here about the revolutions that led to the elimination of the primitive communal and slave-owning formations. Although the transition from them was not a simple evolutionary process, yet here the revolutionary processes did not manifest themselves in their pure form.


formal proclamation of bourgeois slogans, leading in the course of the struggle the working people to an understanding of the need for a socialist revolution.

A democratic revolution is a revolution carried out within the framework of the modern era of transition from capitalism to socialism, during which the transition from feudal-bourgeois relations to relations of a mixed type takes place, when, along with state property, private property limited by law also takes place. Political power passes into the hands of the democratic strata of society: the petty bourgeoisie, the intelligentsia, representatives of the working class and the peasantry. There is still no dictatorship of the proletariat here, but such a revolution can develop into a socialist revolution.

Distinctive feature national liberation revolution - a struggle against the imperialist colonialists, for national freedom and independence. After liberation from colonial slavery, the development of a country, depending on which internal forces gain the upper hand, can either follow the path of capitalist development or the non-capitalist path. In the latter case, the national liberation revolution may develop into a democratic, and then ultimately into a socialist revolution.

The socialist revolution is the highest type of revolution, during which the transition from capitalism to socialism is carried out. The socialist revolution abolishes capitalist private property and the system of exploitation of man by man associated with it. It transfers political power into the hands of the working class and affirms the dictatorship of the proletariat. It corresponds to the fundamental interests of all other working classes and strata, due to which all classes and social groups that have been oppressed and exploited by the capitalist class participate in it. It awakens the enormous creative energy of the working people and directs it towards building a new, socialist society. She creates everything the necessary conditions for the free development of every person, for creative work and creation for the good of the whole people. The first such victorious revolution was the Great October Socialist Revolution, which marked the beginning of a new era in the development of mankind - the era of transition from capitalism to socialism on a global scale.

The enormous world-historical cause of the socialist revolution cannot be accomplished without the Communist Party, which is the organizer, inspirer and leader of the working people in the revolutionary struggle and in the process of building a new society.

The socialist revolution is not only the highest, but also the last type of revolution, for it eliminates all forms of class antagonism, all forms of oppression of man by man. With the achievement of such a stage, social development is no longer in the form of political revolutions, but in the form of planned, progressive progress in all areas of the life of the new society.

40. Social revolution and its role in social development. Revolutionary situation and political crisis in society

The theory of social revolution plays a central role in the Marxist philosophy of historical materialism.

The theory of social revolution in Marxism is based on the dialectical law of the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones, which (the transition) occurs in a leap.

In the transfer to social being, historical materialism sees the operation of this law in the fact that the evolutionary development of society at some stage must accomplish a revolutionary in character, a rapid change in all its aspects, and calls this a "social revolution."

Thus, a social revolution means abrupt, compressed in time, radical qualitative changes in society as a whole, during which the old order is denied by the new order.

Social revolution is a complex process of denial in which:

Everything that has become obsolete in society is destroyed;

Continuity is maintained between the new and old states of society;

Elements appear that were not present in the old, denied state of society.

Social revolution, thus, like any denial, is the resolution of some kind of contradiction.

In a social revolution, not some, but the main contradiction of any social system is resolved - the contradiction between its productive forces and production relations.

At a certain stage of their development, the productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production. When, as a result of this contradiction, the relations of production turn into fetters for the productive forces striving to develop, there comes era of social revolution, which, solving the main contradiction, changes, first of all, economic foundations of society, that is, it changes the basis of the socio-economic formation.

With a change in the economic basis of society, that is with a change in basis, more or less quickly there is a revolution in the entire huge superstructure of the socio-economic formation.

Ultimately, a social revolution is a combination of a revolution in material production and an ideological revolution taking place in the political, religious, artistic, philosophical and other spheres of life, where people are aware of the social conflict and are fighting for its resolution.

If we consider the course of human history, then social revolutions are the most important stages of social development, which not only separate one socio-economic formation from another, but also preserve the continuity of the historical movement. Without the social revolution there would be no historical movement, since no socio-economic formation without it could not take the place of the previous formation.

Thus, social revolutions can be called the expression of the essence of the natural-historical process of the development of society. Being, according to Marx, inevitable, social revolutions are the law of history, its "locomotives" and ensure the replacement of one socio-economic formation by another, more progressive, in the following order:

- primitive communal system;

- slave system;

- the feudal system;

- capitalism;

- communism.

Despite all the dissimilarity and specificity of social revolutions for different countries and for different historical eras, they always have recurring essential features and processes.

This repetition is revealed in the fact that the radical breakdown of the old formation always has its origins in the exacerbation of the contradictions between the productive forces and the production relations of a given society. Therefore, the social revolution proceeds in the form of a class struggle and, in general, a social revolution is the highest stage in the development of the class struggle, which has reached the greatest bitterness.

In the course of the social revolution, the question of power is decided, and therefore social revolution testifies, first of all, about the political crisis of this social system, since the political stability of any society is expressed in the stability of its power.

It is the political crisis of society if it turns into a crisis of power and is accompanied by an economic and social crisis, indicates the emergence of a revolutionary situation in society, that is, about the emergence of conditions that form the possibility of a social revolution.

Briefly, the revolutionary situation can be called a nationwide crisis, which, according to Lenin's developments, characterized by the following main features:

1. The impossibility for the ruling classes to maintain their rule unchanged. That is - "the upper classes can no longer," although they want, to live in the old way.

2. Aggravation above the usual degree of want and misery of the oppressed classes... That is - "the lower classes no longer want" to live in the old way, because they cannot.

3. Significant increase in mass activity leading to their independent historical performance.

For the victory of a social revolution, it is not enough just to have a revolutionary situation. It is also necessary that to these objective prerequisites for social revolution subjective prerequisites joined:

- the ability of the masses to bravely, selflessly fight and

- the presence of an experienced revolutionary party, carrying out the correct strategic and tactical leadership of the struggle of the masses.

Basic terms

BASIS(Marxism ) - a set of conditions that make up the economic basis of the structure of society.

HISTORICAL MATERIALISM- Marxist teaching about the laws of the historical development of society.

CAPITALISM- a society in which industrial and financial capital is the property that determines the social position and influence on power.

CLASS STRUGGLE- irreconcilable clash of classes.

COMMUNISM(in Marxism) - a classless formation replacing capitalism based on social ownership of the means of production.

SUPERSTRUCTION(Marxism) - a set of spiritual culture, social relations and social institutions of society.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FORMATION- a certain, historically formed type of society based on a particular mode of production.

NEGATION(dialectics ) - the transition of the old to the new while preserving all the best from the old.

POLITICAL CRISIS- a state of national conflict, accompanied by the powerlessness of the authorities to exercise leadership in society.

PRODUCTIVE FORCES- a set of tools, technologies, transport, premises, objects of labor, etc., used in production, and people as carriers of knowledge, abilities, skills, and production experience.

RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION- the relationship of people in the production process.

CONTRADICTION- the moment of constant opposing interaction of opposites.

SLAVE STORY- a society in which slaves are the main economic property.

THE REVOLUTION- a complete and sudden cardinal upheaval in the state and social structure.

JUMP- the process of a radical change in the available quality and the birth of a new quality as a result of the accumulation of quantitative changes.

SOCIAL REVOLUTION- abrupt, time-compressed radical qualitative changes in society as a whole.

FEUDAL STORY- a society in which the property that determines the social position and influence on power is the land and the people attached to it.

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