Unreason and Revolution.
ResearchPublished 1969
A preliminary analysis of the progressive dissociation of revolutionary practice from Marxist theory. The major premise of this discussion is that a number of revolutionary movements are showing a parallel trend away from Communist doctrine and the organizational discipline based on ideological authority. Instead, the "New Left" appears to be establishing a different type of revolutionary tradition: immediate, violent action rather than social analysis, and military rather than political and ideological leadership. Contemporary revolutionary activity of this type has occurred on the outer fringe of the Western world as well as in advanced Western countries--with some phenomena in the latter that are not "revolutionary" in the conventional political sense of the word. Such movements might be interpreted broadly as symptoms of a crisis of Western civilization, caused by an unprecedented acceleration of both the external expansion of Western influence and the pace of its internal change. 31 pp.
Document Details
- Copyright: RAND Corporation
- Availability: Available
- Year: 1969
- Print Format: Paperback
- Paperback Pages: 31
- Paperback Price: $20.00
- Document Number: P-4119
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Lowenthal, R., Unreason and Revolution. RAND Corporation, P-4119, 1969. As of September 5, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4119.html
Lowenthal, R., Unreason and Revolution. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1969. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4119.html. Also available in print form.
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