Which Revolution Will You Support?

Rebellion and insurrection is the natural and necessary way people change their government structure. To protect themselves governments typically organize so that they cannot be removed using the sanctioned institutions they create, such as elections. They also pass laws against rebellion and insurrection. As a historic example, after the Boston Tea Party Britain passed the Coercive Acts to discipline the Colonies. The “Intolerable Acts”, as they were called by the Colonists, only heightened the resolve of the rebels.

The truth of the matter is, our nation was birthed in insurrection. The New Deal was birthed in insurrection. Laws of a government that needs to be changed are irrelevant to insurrectionists because they MUST act outside the framework of that government to change it. Governments understand this and only pass such laws to try to discourage rebellion.

Of course, insurrections may also be organized to replace one bad form of government with a still worse one. That was the motivation behind the January 6 occupation of the Capitol Building. Governments can buy time against insurrection through appeasement, as was the case with the institution of the New Deal programs. The threat to capitalism was quite real at the time, but FDR managed to back the left down with an extensive array of reforms which put many people to work quickly and gave many others financial security. Now, many decades later, with a powerful capitalist class that is sucking the wealth from society at an alarming rate, the winds of insurrection are blowing again.

Government cannot stop a revolution sufficiently powered by people willing to sacrifice for their cause. Society itself will have to determine whether it is a progressive or regressive revolution that procedes. Time is running out for maintaining the status quo.