Revolution

Abstract

Marx had put forward a powerful argument to the effect that the internal contradictions of capitalism would create the conditions for the seizure of state power by the industrial working class and the transformation of society in a socialist direction. The proletariat in the places where capitalism was most advanced (Europe and the United States) would be the bearer of the socialist revolution. In the century since Marx put forward this argument this proletarian revolution has not occurred in the advanced capitalist nations, while the industrially less developed nations, beginning with Russia in 1917, have witnessed revolution upon revolution and the construction of socialist states. Moreover, with the possible exception of the Russian Revolution, the industrial proletariat has played a relatively minor role in these revolutions.