Looking at the protests happening in Libya, Egypt and Yemen today one would think a revolution is happening or in the process of happening. But in my opinion what is happening is a counter revolution. This is since all the incumbent governments in these three countries came about through revolutions.
The protesters/rebels are trying to overthrow revolutionary governments. This would seem paradoxical but a brief look at the contemporary histories of these countries would prove this as true. Why would people try to overthrow revolutionary governments which they themselves helped put into place in the first place?
Thas to do fundamentally with the way revolutions work- those who worked, fought and bled for it need not necessary be the ones in power at the end of it. This is since revolutions are essentially chaotic struggle for power and what emerges on top cannot be predicted easily. A rule of thumb that can be applied is that usually the most organized group active in a revolution may gain the upper hand.
Hence the grand ideals and moral objectives that sparked the revolution may not be there when it all ends. This is roughly what happened to the incumbent revolutionary governments presently in power in many countries. Examples like China, North Korea, Vietnam, Libya, Egypt come immediately to mind as examples of misguided revolutions.
For all its apparent faults the US revolution seems to be the only one which preserved its original ideals.
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