Information Related to "1848, 1989, 2009-Could We See Another Year of Revolutions?"
| Audio/Video |
London's G20 summit of the world's richest nations in April was accompanied by thousands of people demonstrating against an economic system that has been greatly discredited by the recent housing and subsequent financial crisis.
The ongoing crisis has already resulted in the fall of governments in smaller nations, the latest being Iceland and Latvia. Riots have broken out in Britain and the Balkans. And extremist movements have grown as unemployed people place the blame for the financial crisis on "Jewish bankers" and unemployment on immigrants.
Now there is increasing talk of this being a year of revolutions to rival 1848 and 1989. When people have lost everything-jobs, homes, retirement funds and all means of financial support-they have nothing to lose. History shows us that such conditions pave the way for revolution.
The year 1848 was a major turning point in European history; revolutions against absolute monarchs swept across the continent. England and Russia were the only two major nations to escape, the former because its political system had already made some significant changes, and the latter because poor communications made it difficult for groups to work together in their revolutionary cause. (Russia would, however, experience its revolution several generations later.)
The 19th-century French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his Recollections of the social upheaval of 1848: "Society was cut in two: those who had nothing [were] united in common envy, and those who had anything [were] united in common terror."
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Table of Contents that includes "1848, 1989, 2009-Could We See Another Year of Revolutions?"
Other Articles by Melvin Rhodes
Economic system: