Owe Jessen wrote in message . ..
Am Mon, 06 Oct 2003 12:13:48 -0400, schrieb Stephen Harding
:


You're wrong. The American colonies had a very large middle class. A high
percentage of property owners, particularly farmers, but also tradesmen and
professionals. It's something very few societies have been able to accomplish.

This is very important in interpreting the motivation in favor of revolution.
American colonists by and large were not landless, propertyless, angry people
with nothing to lose by going against a powerful colonial establishment.



Wasn't the french revolution primarily driven by the middle classes as
well? Historyically, as tought in the school, these revolutions (like
those of 1848) were a move of the people who had economic power to
gain political power as well.

Most political change has been driven by those who generate the
wealth, if for no other reason they can 'pay the npiper', and stand to
gain the most. Even the Russian revolution was driven by those who had
the fortune to be born into famillies that could affod education. The
poor are forever the foot soldiers.

Peter