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Why haven’t we had a revolution?

55 replies

OnlyFins · 10/05/2023 17:18

Are we just not the overthrowing type as a nation?

OP posts:
Toottooot · 10/05/2023 17:19

Away start one then - why wait for others?

LudicrouslyCapaciousBag · 10/05/2023 17:21

There is quite genuinely a theory amongst some
historians that it is due to our moderate climate.

EvelynBeatrice · 10/05/2023 17:22

Haven’t you heard the old saying : ‘Hand over the old Duchess of Queensferry to the French peasantry and they will guillotine her; hand her over to the English peasantry and they’ll install her in the best bedroom and make her a cup of tea’. I like being British!

MichelleScarn · 10/05/2023 17:23

Toottooot · 10/05/2023 17:19

Away start one then - why wait for others?

Exactly! Got to start somewhere, go for it @OnlyFins! Vive le revolution!

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 10/05/2023 17:24

We had two. Once we cut the kings head off, once we just expelled him and appointed a new one.

But I expect you are yearning for a nice bloody revolution as in Russia or France….I think they go in for them in Africa and SouthAmerica quite a lot as well. Lots of people get shot or strung up, women are raped, property is redistributed according to who ‘wins’.

We have a Parliamentary democracy instead, which is one reason that lots of people who didn’t have one in their previous country seem to like to live here.

Alltheprettyseahorses · 10/05/2023 17:24

We have. However, we're a democracy and vote in our governments in regular, free and fair elections so why would we need another one?

MeinKraft · 10/05/2023 17:27

Because this is what the majority of voters voted for.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/05/2023 17:29

OnlyFins · 10/05/2023 17:18

Are we just not the overthrowing type as a nation?

Because history shows us that they are very easy to start and then not so easy to control - that's why they are called 'revolutions.' They turn, not necessarily in the way that you want or anticipated. And they tend to involve a lot of blood, violence and upheaval. Very messy things, revolutions.

Justanotherpoint · 10/05/2023 17:29

Look at the turn out rate in elections - half the people can’t be bothered even filling out a form which will make a difference.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/05/2023 17:31

Lots of people get shot or strung up, women are raped, property is redistributed according to who ‘wins’.

And then the people who 'win' fall out among themselves and start fighting again. See France, Russia, Sudan....

tatteddear · 10/05/2023 17:33

We are too polite

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/05/2023 17:34

MeinKraft · 10/05/2023 17:27

Because this is what the majority of voters voted for.

No they didn’t. More people voted against the Tories than for them. But despite this, we’ve got a shite Conservative government.

90stalgia · 10/05/2023 17:39

Because there's a risk of ending up with something even worse than we already have.

Begsthequestion · 10/05/2023 17:39

This article is pretty good on what happened in Britain while the French were revolting, to stop the British from joining in: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-impact-of-the-french-revolution-in-britain

Basically the ruling class of Britain used propaganda, accusations of treason, and violent, loyalist mobs to quell any revolutionary spirit here.

British Library

https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-impact-of-the-french-revolution-in-britain

dontlookbackyourenotgoingthatway · 10/05/2023 17:41

We did. Chopped the kings head off in 1649.

Then we changed our minds and installed the old kings son.

Wonder what would've happened if we hadn't changed our minds?

Whiteroomjoy · 10/05/2023 17:46

We did have a revolution. It’s estimated 200,000 died in it. It’s just we called it a “ civil” war 🤣🤣🤣🤣
we then discovered that having cut the head off of one head of state, the other was a bit of a kill joy dictator and put a kiss no back on the throne 🙄
as others commented, a lot of work went into stopping the contagion of revolutions happening in this country post French Revolution

if you also think about the UK as a whole , the irish and Scot’s, particularly, have a long history of revolting against English rule- again a very long and bloody history that only just ended with Good Friday agreement, and is still under threat , hence why stormount can’t get a devolve parliament in place

Custardbanana · 10/05/2023 18:01

The British political system has been quite efficient in modifying itself in order to prevent revolutions occurring.

FloweryName · 10/05/2023 18:02

Because not enough people agree on the same thing.

coxesorangepippin · 10/05/2023 18:05

Because obeying is part of the culture. Which is inherently in the class system. Working class, upper middle etc as nauseam

So it's a viscious circle

Systematic

JaneyGee · 10/05/2023 18:10

We did. We had a series of brutal civil wars that began in the 1640s and culminated in 1688. At the end, we established the supremacy of Parliament. We even cut off the King's head (much to the horror of French and Spanish conservatives). In the 18th-century, Britain was admired by French writers and revolutionaries. One of the classics of French literature is a book by Voltaire praising Britain's political system. In fact, Britain's civil wars inspired both the American and French revolutions.

I wouldn't talk too casually about revolution, though. If the 20th-century has one lesson, it's the danger of big ideas. People get some idealistic vision in their head, then they start a revolution in the hopes of achieving it. But the result is usually chaos. After that, the psychopaths come out of the woodwork. Psychopaths like Stalin thrive under those conditions, and when the dust settles, they've usually gained control. That jabbering, greasy egomaniac Russell Brand even published a book called 'Revolution'. I wonder what he'd think if he got his wish, and there really was a sudden, radical transformation of society? In the 19th-century, a German philosopher, inspired by Hegel, came up with a series of revolutionary ideas. In the 20th-century, various idealists tried to impose those ideas on society, and 100 million people died.

If everyone was kind and gentle and civilised, then you could try radically reforming society. You could shake things up and try out different systems until something worked. But they're not. Some people are intelligent and reasonable and civilised. Others are ignorant, violent, amoral, irrational and totally selfish. Civilisation is a fragile thing. It doesn't come naturally to us. We've all known people whose violence and aggression can only just be contained. And that's in a time of peace and prosperity!

GeraltsBathtub · 10/05/2023 18:10

Justanotherpoint · 10/05/2023 17:29

Look at the turn out rate in elections - half the people can’t be bothered even filling out a form which will make a difference.

Depressing isn’t it? In 2019 the number of non voters was bigger than the number of votes for the winner in 142 constituencies - that’s more than a fifth of seats. And that doesn’t even factor in the people who didn’t bother to register.

awakeeveeynight · 10/05/2023 18:11

We did didn't we? The Roundheads and the cavaliers and all that...

defi · 10/05/2023 18:14

We're too over worked and tired

notprincehamlet · 10/05/2023 18:15

The only time there would be a mass uprising in this country would be if they banned car boot sales and caravanning
Victoria Wood

Zipps · 10/05/2023 18:15

As the first poster said "After you"
Which is why we won't, basically.
Not because we daren't but because we like manners, queues and order.