The Revolution to Come
A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Princeton University Press
Published:10th Jun '25
Should be back in stock very soon
How an event once considered the greatest of all political dangers came to be seen as a solution to all social problems
Political thinkers from Plato to John Adams saw revolutions as a grave threat to society and advocated for a constitution that prevented them by balancing social interests and forms of government. The Revolution to Come traces how evolving conceptions of history ushered in a faith in the power of revolution to create more just and reasonable societies.
Taking readers from Greek antiquity to Leninist Russia, Dan Edelstein describes how classical philosophers viewed history as chaotic and directionless, and sought to keep historical change—especially revolutions—at bay. This conception prevailed until the eighteenth century, when Enlightenment thinkers conceived of history as a form of progress and of revolution as its catalyst. These ideas were put to the test during the French Revolution and came to define revolutions well into the twentieth century. Edelstein demonstrates how the coming of the revolution leaves societies divided over its goals, giving rise to new forms of violence in which rivals are targeted as counterrevolutionaries.
A panoramic work of intellectual history, The Revolution to Come challenges us to reflect on the aims and consequences of revolution and to balance the value of stability over the hope for change in our own moment of fear and upheaval.
"[An] engrossing tour de force. . . . Edelstein illuminates the fundamental dilemma at the heart of ancient and modern revolutions: the deep social conflicts that trigger political upheaval do not disappear in the aftermath of revolution, even as revolution sweeps aside those institutions needed to foster consensus."---G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs
"The Revolution to Come is a trenchant intellectual history of the modern revolutionary project, seeking to explain both its tendency toward slaughter and its fatal attraction to despotism. The book is sweeping in scale, fascinating in detail and equivocal in its implications."---Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal
"Much more could be said about this wonderful book; the above only scratches the surface of the virtues on display. Not least that it is so eminently readable, yet without sacrificing the intellectual rigour and range required to pull off the author’s ambitions. At times, I felt like I was wrapped up in an epic novel, charting the intertwined lives of two central protagonists, with a host of intriguing supporting characters encountered along the way. I know of no greater praise for a work of this kind. It is intellectual history at its finest."--- Paul Sagar, Intellectual History Review
"Rich, wide-ranging, and important. . . . [Edelstein’s] book should persuade intellectual historians that questions of revolution are never truly autonomous from ancient Greek and Roman political thought. It should also remind classicists that their discipline is deeply connected with questions of revolution, too."---Daniel Sutton, Polis
ISBN: 9780691231853
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
432 pages