Both the American and French revolutions were bourgeoise capitalist revolutions… and neither led to significant gains of power for the people of the nations, just for the bourgeoisie who led the revolutions.
Not the point. The assertion was that power comes from capital, and as wealthy as the Founding Fathers were, their wealth was NOTHING compared to what the British or French governments held. Being outnumbered by an angry violent mob is far more powerful than money.
And I don’t think your statement holds with the French Revolution. The elites didn’t launch the revolution, they lost their heads to it.
My point is that while capital certainly helps, it is not the only factor in the success of a revolution. America has nearly unlimited resources, and yet we lost both Vietnam and Afghanistan to guerilla insurgencies. Nearly all successful revolutions consisted of the powerful corrupt being crushed by their victims.
And not all revolutions are about giving more power to the people, many are just about kicking out the corrupt criminals who are exploiting the nation. They don’t always expect that they will benefit with more power, they’re just happy that people aren’t being snatched off the streets, or tortured, or drafted into wars of economic opportunity, or starving, or the economy looted, etc. Most don’t expect to have a say in who the leaders are, they just feel like they have to be better than the current psychopaths.
Both the American and French revolutions were bourgeoise capitalist revolutions… and neither led to significant gains of power for the people of the nations, just for the bourgeoisie who led the revolutions.
Not the point. The assertion was that power comes from capital, and as wealthy as the Founding Fathers were, their wealth was NOTHING compared to what the British or French governments held. Being outnumbered by an angry violent mob is far more powerful than money.
And I don’t think your statement holds with the French Revolution. The elites didn’t launch the revolution, they lost their heads to it.
My point is that while capital certainly helps, it is not the only factor in the success of a revolution. America has nearly unlimited resources, and yet we lost both Vietnam and Afghanistan to guerilla insurgencies. Nearly all successful revolutions consisted of the powerful corrupt being crushed by their victims.
And not all revolutions are about giving more power to the people, many are just about kicking out the corrupt criminals who are exploiting the nation. They don’t always expect that they will benefit with more power, they’re just happy that people aren’t being snatched off the streets, or tortured, or drafted into wars of economic opportunity, or starving, or the economy looted, etc. Most don’t expect to have a say in who the leaders are, they just feel like they have to be better than the current psychopaths.