The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin

Dan Edelstein

Princeton University Press, Apr 15, 2025 - History - 376 pages

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.

Contents

• Come the Revolution: 1
• Revolution in Ancient Greek Thought: 29
• Rome Polybius and the Revolution: 46
• How Translations of Polybius Transformed: 62
• The Misfortunes of History: 76
• CONSTITUTIONS: 85
• Revolution Principles 16881760: 105
• The Last of the Polybians 176487: 125
• MODERN TIMES: 149
• Enlightenment Revolutions: 165
• The Dual Power in the French Revolution: 173
• THE PROGRESS OF REVOLUTION: 203
• Liberal Revolution and Its Discontents: 205
• The Politics of Imagination: 230
• Revolution in Permanence: 246
• Authority and Violence: 271
• The Coming Revolution?: 285
• Acknowledgments: 297
• Abbreviations: 301
• Notes: 305
• Bibliography: 367
• Index: 409

About the author

Dan Edelstein is the William H. Bonsall Professor of French and (by courtesy) professor of political science and of history at Stanford University. His many books include On the Spirit of Rights and The Terror of Natural Right: Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the French Revolution.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin
• Author: Dan Edelstein
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2025
• ISBN: 0691231842, 9780691231846
• Length: 376 pages
• Subjects: History / Military / Revolutions & Wars of Independence; History / World; Political Science / History & Theory