Why Do Revolutions Fail?

Revolutions are the radical repudiation of the status quo. In the late 1700s, the people of America and France
sought to challenge the status quo--the notion that a person was chosen by God, not political skill or
intelligence to lead countries. Armed with the ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, the people were
inspired to challenge the divine right of traditional leaders and take power for themselves. While the
American Revolution resulted in a lasting republic, the French Revolution ended in dictatorship.
Over 100 years later, the people of Russia and China felt the same call for action, the same need to challenge
the existing system of divine right monarchs and emperors. This time, their philosophical guide was Karl
Marx who dreamt of a utopia of equality. Both the Chinese and Russian revolutions never achieved Karl
Marx's vision of a communist utopia. In, George Orwell's allegorical fable, "Animal Farm," he demonstrates
the same failed revolutionary cycle. While the animals were able to successfully rid themselves of their
tyrannical human master, they failed to create a world in which all animal were equal. Why has this utopian
ideal of equality failed time and time again? Can we identify a specific part of the cycle where revolutions
fail? Even though the people of France were inspired by Locke, not Marx, why does the French Revolution
follow the same cycle? What was different in the American Revolution? Will the Tunisians, Egyptians,
Libyans and other countries of the Middle East fall victim to the same vicious cycle as the French, Chinese,
and Russians?
In a bullet pointed list, you are to more specifically examine and analyze what factors were involved in the
failure of the Russian and Chinese revolutions. Select at least two specific reasons the revolutions failed and
explain how and why they contributed to the collapse of the original ideals of the revolutionaries.


Why Do Revolutions Fail?
Revolutions are the radical repudiation of the status quo. In the late 1700s, the people of America and France
sought to challenge the status quo--the notion that a person was chosen by God, not political skill or
intelligence to lead countries. Armed with the ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, the people were
inspired to challenge the divine right of traditional leaders and take power for themselves. While the
American Revolution resulted in a lasting republic, the French Revolution ended in dictatorship.
Over 100 years later, the people of Russia and China felt the same call for action, the same need to challenge
the existing system of divine right monarchs and emperors. This time, their philosophical guide was Karl
Marx who dreamt of a utopia of equality. Both the Chinese and Russian revolutions never achieved Karl
Marx's vision of a communist utopia. In, George Orwell's allegorical fable, "Animal Farm," he demonstrates
the same failed revolutionary cycle. While the animals were able to successfully rid themselves of their
tyrannical human master, they failed to create a world in which all animal were equal. Why has this utopian
ideal of equality failed time and time again? Can we identify a specific part of the cycle where revolutions
fail? Even though the people of France were inspired by Locke, not Marx, why does the French Revolution
follow the same cycle? What was different in the American Revolution? Will the Tunisians, Egyptians,
Libyans and other countries of the Middle East fall victim to the same vicious cycle as the French, Chinese,
and Russians?
In a bullet pointed list, you are to more specifically examine and analyze what factors were involved in the
failure of the Russian and Chinese revolutions. Select at least two specific reasons the revolutions failed and
explain how and why they contributed to the collapse of the original ideals of the revolutionaries.