Bourgeois Revolutions

[Adam Rose <adam@xxxxxxxx>]

Zeynep writes:
>
> In Europe, the nation and the bourgeois state was formed in a totally
> dissimilar manner than the way it was later formed Latin America, Africa,
> Middle East. There, there was first a political entity, which went on to
> shape to country in a capitalist manner. The base/superstructure interaction
> is rather different than classic Marxist analysis puts things. The relation
> is superdetermined by the word-historical stage of imperialism.
>

This isn't actually true even of Europe.

The "classic" bourgeois revolutions, the ones that everyone thinks about
when the term "bourgeois revolution" is used, are first the French
revolution of 1789 and perhaps second the English Revolution of the 1640's.
[ Perhaps competing for second place is the American revolution - sorry
for my Eurocentrism ! ]

Some bourgeois revolutions did conform to this model of "bourgeois revolution
>from below". But others clearly did not - archtypally, the German and Japanese
transformations from pre capitalist to capitalist societies. [ But also
the decisive "glorious revolution" of 1688 in England, which was the revolution
which actually decided things in England ].

These were revolutions, in the sense that the social relations in these 
societies
were transformed completely. But they were carried through from above, by 
sections
of the old ruling class, who realised they were in no position to compete with
those countries which had already successfully carried through their bourgeois
revolutions by whatever method.

The absolute monarchies of the old Empires - Russia, Austria, Ottoman, - 
embarked
on this strategy, but couldn't carry it through, because the old ruling classes
were too entrenched and/or they started to late, and/or they were more succesful
as absolutist Empires.

As for Marxist categories being able to understand this sort of thing, I think
distinguishing between bourgeois revolutions from above and bourgeois 
revolutions
>from below, combined with Trostky's theory of combined and uneven development,
just about covers it.

Adam.



Adam Rose
SWP
Manchester
UK


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