"Is it possible
to succeed without any act of betrayal?" - Jean Renoir (1894-1979) French
Filmmaker
When one speaks of revolution, the very notion, the very mention, reveals
the interests of all participants.
No one is neutral in a revolution, and even the pretension of neutrality is
but inaction in favor of the status quo, and therefore, anti-revolutionary
in effect.
Most folks think of the American Revolution, or the French Revolution; some
think of the Haitian Revolution, or the Russian Revolution. Most see these
revolutions as rare epoch in history; as earth- shattering as comets plunging
from the heavens.
Revolutions (despite what you were taught in history class) were rife in world
history, and were successful in some ways, but unsuccessful in others.
What will no doubt surprise many readers is the long history of revolutions
across Europe. They were religious, nationalist, and social-economic in character,
yet they were revolutions nonetheless.
For millions of Americans, the names of these European revolutionaries (although
of their various ethnic backgrounds) are virtually unknown. John Ball (England),
Jan Hus (Czech), the Taborites, Prokop Holı (Czech priest), and the like,
were all revolutionaries (or, at least, committed radicals) who rallied popular
discontent against a rich, and foreign, clergy and aristocracy.
There can be no discussion about these revolutions, without the acknowledgement
that these revolutionaries fought in Revolutions that were ultimately betrayed
by their erstwhile allies, for self-interest, gain, or a false, elusive "peace."
Bohemia's brilliant Jan Hus (ca. 1419) sparked a revolution that raged for
18 years, while the betrayal of the Hussite revolution came from those who
professed allegiance, yet practiced treachery, like the well-to-do and wealthy
Masters of the University at Prague. [See C. H. George, 500 Years of Revolution:
European Radicals from Hus to Lenin, (Kerr, 1998)].
The brilliant revolutionary historian, C.L.R. James, in his little-known A
History of Pan-African Revolt (1938/1995) tells us of the attempt of Toussaint
L'Ouverture to betray Haitian freedom to the French colonists:
..[W]hen the French Government sent Commissioners who boasted of the armed
forces (quite imaginary) which were on their way, the Negro leaders [Jean-François,
Biassou, and Toussaint] sought to betray their followers. They wrote to the
Commissioners promising that in return for the freedom of a few hundred they
would cooperate in leading the others back into slavery and would join in
hunting down the recalcitrant. [James, 40.]
Toussaint's failed deal shows us how deep is the instinct of betrayal, not
just in "Negro leaders," but in the very heart of the Revolution itself. Let
us learn from our radical and revolutionary history, for, in so doing, we
are neither surprised nor dismayed by betrayals of revolution. We expect it.
What this history teaches us is that some revolutions, if led by the people,
and not the bourgeoisie, will even succeed despite treachery.
They spring, not from the brains of the bourgeoisie, but from the guts and
hearts of a people on the move.
A true revolution can be betrayed, but if it lives in the hearts of the people,
it can't be stopped.
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