The Art of Revolution is an independent research project by Dick H. Ahles devoted to the development of a general scientific theory of civilising and social change.
The project began with a relatively simple question: how do ideas become socially effective?
Political and social debate often concentrates on the content of ideas — whether they are true, false, just, unjust, desirable or dangerous. That remains important, but it is a different question from how ideas actually spread through society, become part of people’s thinking and conduct, are reproduced within social circles and eventually become embedded in institutions.
The Art of Revolution approaches that second question analytically.
The theory brings together mechanisms concerning individual formation, socialisation, social circles, institutions, power, elites, political conflict, movements and social change within a single conceptual framework. Its distinctive concept is civilising: the continuous process through which civilisation elements are formed, transmitted, internalised, maintained, interpreted, modified, strengthened, weakened or rejected. The Art of Revolution Formal Th…
The theory distinguishes between the civilisation of individuals and the sufficiently shared civilisation of social circles. It examines how shared ideas may become institutionalised, how institutions contribute to their reproduction and legitimation, and how changes in personal civilisations, circle civilisations, social relations and institutions interact over time. The Art of Revolution Formal Th…
Scientific approach
The Art of Revolution is intended as a social-scientific research programme, not as a political ideology or manifesto.
Its propositions are formulated so that they can, in principle, be investigated empirically, criticised, falsified and improved. The theory does not claim that civilisation elements are the only possible way to describe social phenomena; it proposes them as one coherent analytical framework through which very different social processes can be investigated and compared. The Art of Revolution Formal Th…
The theory is substantively neutral. The same mechanisms should apply whether the ideas being studied are liberal, socialist, conservative, religious, secular, democratic, authoritarian or otherwise. The explanatory question is not whether an idea ought to prevail, but how it becomes socially operative and under what conditions it persists or changes.
Author
Photo: Yvonne Killian
Dick H. Ahles is an independent researcher based in the Netherlands. He studied political science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and later worked in publishing, media and business management.
The Art of Revolution brings together a long-standing interest in political theory, social change, institutions, technology and the mechanisms through which ideas become socially effective.
The project has been influenced by a wide range of thinkers. Norbert Elias is particularly important for the concept of civilising, while other parts of the theory engage with questions raised by thinkers concerned with institutions, power, social order, political change and the transmission of ideas. The purpose, however, is not to reproduce any existing school of thought, but to integrate relevant mechanisms into a single testable theoretical framework.
Open Civitas
The Art of Revolution is developed within Open Civitas, an independent platform for research, publication and discussion on social order, political philosophy and social change.
Open Civitas provides the organisational and publishing framework within which The Art of Revolution is developed and made publicly accessible. The theory itself remains an independent scientific research project and is intended to be open to criticism, empirical testing and further development.
Status of the project
The theory is a work in progress.
The current formal version consists of axioms, definitions and 100 propositions, each accompanied by an explanation. Together they form the theoretical framework from which more specific hypotheses and empirical studies can be developed.
Comments, criticism and proposals for empirical testing are welcome.