I was watching an educational program on television and a history teacher posited that there were four (4) countries that changed the political and economic landscape of the entire world and as such, the path these nations take steers the direction of the entire world.
4 Revolutions That Changed the World. Agree or Disagree.
AMERICA: The American Revolution (also known as the War of American Independence) began in 1775 and the Thirteen Colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We fought the Red Coats and won! In 1789, George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States.
FRANCE: Inspired by the success of America, the French Revolution began in 1789. French citizens stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789. This country's independence was not gained as quickly as America's independence. But the ideals of liberté, égalité, fraternité (liberty, equality, fraternity (or brotherhood) would not die. The French Revolutionary Wars started in 1792. A republican constitution was adopted in 1875. Fast forward. The current French government is based on the Constitution of the Fifth Republic which was enacted in October 1958. It took the establishment of several republics but they did it!
RUSSIA: In the 1900s, in Russia, Marxist doctrine started spreading among the proletariat (the working-class people). Marxism pointed a finger of blame at capitalism as being the reason for the class struggle and held that communism would result in a classless society. The promise of Communism is that a classless society will exist where wealth is shared based on the defining principle that everyone received “according to his need”, “according to his ability”. Vladmir Lenin, a Marxist revolutionary and leader of the Bolshevik Party launched the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. 5 years later (1922), the Bolshevik Party also called the Communist Party formed the U.S.S.R. However, the end result was not socioeconomic equality for the citizens. In the 1990s, a “new” Russian government was structured which is supposed to be headed in the direction of democratic and economic reform, and a “new” constitution is supposed to ensure that the needs of the people are provided. Promises. Promises.
CHINA: It was the the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 that overthrew the last Chinese imperial dynasty and established the Republic of China. But it was the Chinese Revolution of 1949 that resulted in the creation of the People's Republic of China. Communist Party leader Mao Zedong led this revolution. In the beginning, the traditions of Marx and Lenin were followed. But Mao Zedong disagreed with the direction the Soviet Leader Khrushchev had taken the U.S.S.R. Khrushchev had decided that communism and capitalism could peacefully coexist. Mao Zedong disagreed and developed his own “brand” of communism noted in historical records as Maoism. The reforms undertaken by him did not succeed. After his death, his successor Deng Xioping instituted “market socialism” under a plan named “Four Modernizations”. Because he opened up China to the rest of the world and successfully implemented industrial measures, he is credited with making China an economic world power. As for the current government of China? Nobody cares. The world is too angry with them for causing the coronavirus pandemic.
MY OPINION: (I'm not a historian but ...)
American and France changed the course of mankind's history and led people toward freedom and equality for all in the form of a democratic-republic with a capitalist economy.
~ Russia and China changed the course and promised people fairness and equality through a communist form of government.
America and France believed in ideals that all people should be free to pursue their life and liberty. One could say they believed these were not just ideals but God-given rights to all humans.
~ Russia and China, on the other hand, made all citizens “equal” by forcing the citizens to accept whatever their government said was all that they needed to live their daily life “sort of” freely.
Agree or disagree?
As an American, I say that's certainly one way of looking at the past with an eye toward the future. Perhaps at one time in the course of human events all eyes may have been on these four (4) nations but it's BEYOND 2020 and several major events have changed the history timeline of humanity.
After those revolutions we had TWO world wars.
The establishment of the European Union and BREXIT!
India and North Korea have both developed nuclear weapons and are now on the list of the nine countries that possess these weapons.
Uprisings and rebellions labeled as the Arab Spring occurred in the parts of the Arab world.
The COVID-19 pandemic most certainly changed the political and economic landscape of the entire world.
And then there's Trumpism. (Heaven help us all!)
The world stage has become very crowded and America, France, Russia, and China really need to work on maintaining good relations with these various countries and EACH OTHER! The idea of UNITED NATIONS should be a reality not just an ideal or a theory.
NOTE: This is my original content which is also published on Medium.com.
