Causes of Revolution and Political Change
The issue of the causes of revolutions and political changes troubled the ancient philosophers, but up today, no one has given the correct answer. This question is closely connected with the laws of the origin and development of the state. Modern science is based on the objective of the materialist conception of the universe, which explains the origin of the state as a product of the internal evolution of society. The state has an eternal nature; it does not exist in a primitive society and appears only at the final stage of its development due to the varied reasons. Rather, it is about the transition to new forms of organizing the economic life, which leads to the social stratification of society and the emergence of classes, with the purpose of consolidating the state as a new organizational form of society. State appeared, when the social and class antagonisms objectively could not be reconciled, and the socio-economic development of society allowed the population to guide themselves at the expense of a special control unit. All changes in society are associated with frustration, struggle and contradictions. However, the revolution is the engine of progress, the step to move to a new level.
Thucydides and Plato in some cases agree on the causes of revolutions and political change. The ideas of the first philosopher as to the discussed questions become clear in his description of the class struggle in the period of the Peloponnesian War. As Thucydides underlines, the cause of each revolution is the natural desire of people to rule and not to be under someone elses yoke.
As he describes, during the Peloponnesian War, the thirst for peace in both warring camps caused not only fatigue, but predominantly the intensification of the class struggle erupting with a considerable force in one and then in another place. During the war, the class antagonism reached a higher voltage. The Peloponnesian War intensified class contradictions between slaves and slave owners, and in the environment of free citizens, as long concealed beneath a shiny outer shell. The war-upset life, deprived people of all the comforts of life, and it became, in the words of Thucydides, a teacher of violence.
In the History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, there are pages devoted to the description of the state of Greek society during the war by an outstanding master of the word. The meaning of Thucydides reasoning about the issue is as follows. The war, depriving people all the comforts of everyday life, caused what has long been seething inside. Anarchy began in the cities, and people under the influence of the news of the military catastrophe surpassed each other in the sophistication of their intrigues and revenge. Even the ordinary meaning of the words changed. Reckless audacity came to be considered the courage ; prudent slowness – specious cowardice ; judgment – guise coward ; care to all – a complete inability to business , careful consideration – for a decent excuse to avoid (Thucydides, n.d.). In a daring attempt to destroy each other, the struggling sides were decided at worst , resorting to all means beyond the confines of justice and public good, but just trying to figure that at this moment a satisfying one or the other party (Thucydides, n.d.). With the acquisition of voting power by unfair or violence, they were ready to satiate their momentary passion (Thucydides, n.d.) A memorable example of the civil war in Greece is the revolution on the island of Corfu in 427.
