To make a revolution, you need to unite a group of people using a common goal. It is certainly possible to start a revolution, even if it takes a lot of patience, organization and passion. If you make wise and focused choices, it will be easier for you to succeed. A revolution (word from the Latin revolutio, "upheaval") is a significant change that usually develops over a short period of time.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Choose a Theme
Step 1. Identify a theme on which to base the revolution
For example, if you are a Marxist, you mainly believe that capitalism is the cause of all evil because it exploits the working class.
- Whatever kind of revolution you want to make, you must first determine what you believe in. Come up with a simple sentence to articulate your cause, define a theory. Find a common goal and define it. Create a clear and eloquent message. What is the purpose of your revolution? What do you intend to achieve and why? Develop a simple and powerful message that you can consistently convey.
- You will need a cause that relates to people's deepest passions and their idea of what is right or wrong. Relate it to what really matters and how it can create a better world.
Step 2. Identify the need to make a change
To convince others of your ideals and your desire to change, you need to explain why the world is falling apart. In addition to presenting a theory, you can do so by leveraging a specific need or concern supported by hard data.
- Basically, your goal is to articulate the reasons why change is needed. Maybe you want to change a single institution, like a school. It aims at a need or concern that is public and compelling. To give an example in education, you can deal with the high rate of students dropping out of school.
- Maybe you want to change a government. If you can specifically explain why it is falling short of people's expectations, putting the environment at risk or otherwise, people are more likely to feel touched by your cause and participate.
Step 3. Set concrete goals
To make a revolution, it is important to know what you intend to change. The legislation? The government system itself? The information that is given on a certain concept, such as that of environmentalism?
- Break your goals into smaller steps. This will make it easier to accelerate the realization of the change you aspire to. For example, if you want to eliminate poverty in the world, helping poor families in your city is a good place to start and you will immediately see results.
- You will need an action plan. You should put it in writing and / or create a visual model that includes responsibilities, activities and timing. Don't improvise. Sit down and plan. Measure progress and consistently serve up data.
Step 4. Get organized for resources
You will probably need help with the various operations. You will need people willing to donate money or time to the cause.
- Having a lender is useful, as is having access to commodities. You will need to fund basic costs that you may overlook at the start of your journey, such as booklet shipping, printing, permits, and website. Request donations.
- You need partners, people with resources (human, intellectual, financial or otherwise) who can join you and assist you in developing your organization. Don't try to do it all by yourself.
Method 2 of 4: Engage the Right People
Step 1. Choose a leader and a symbol
The revolution should have a charismatic face to attract the masses and be successful. You can choose a face that is already known, a person who is particularly expressive or who has made a reputation in this area. You need someone or something that can represent and symbolize rebellion. For example, Katniss is the personification of the impersonator jay.
- The leader can be the person who comes up with the original idea or just an individual brave enough to put himself on the front line. Choose a spokesperson who can express themselves, telegenic and photogenic. Build good relationships with television and newspapers to get your message out there.
- Some recommend making all decisions as a group and maintaining anonymity, without clear leadership, so leaders cannot be targeted or stopped by opponents. But remember that having a charismatic leader can be another strategy. Should he be targeted or imprisoned, in some circumstances this will spur the masses even more to fight for the cause (as in the case of Martin Luther King Junior).
Step 2. Recruit activists
You will need people who can organize and lead the movement. They must actively engage and be willing to work at the forefront, putting time and energy into the cause. Motivate people who believe in it to participate. Make presentations in bars, music stores, or other places where you think people tend to gather who will welcome your message.
- The organizational team will need people who possess different skills and techniques. They will know how to interact with the media and how to convince the masses to participate in the protests. Normal people tend to empathize more with people like themselves than with a charismatic leader. If they see individuals they know or empathize with participating, they will feel more motivated to do the same.
- You can't make a revolution with just one person. You must remember that you need people who adhere to your ideals. Making a revolution is a meticulous process that requires an organization made up of ordinary people. In short, the revolution must be fed by the people. Stimulate support and consensus. If you and your friends are the only rebels, nothing will happen. It is an important step, in fact this will determine if the revolution will be successful or if it will be a small civil rebellion doomed to failure.
Step 3. Associate with other people and groups
Look for people who support your change. To be more likely to achieve your goal, you will need people both inside the institution or social structure you intend to change, and outside. Don't give in to rivalries.
- Identify these people, then ask them for help. Choose influential people who can reach more people. You should surround yourself with individuals with different strengths. Cultivate alliances, associate with people who are already working for the same or a similar cause.
- To promote change, at least 15% of the population needs to contribute. Get more and more people on board. Don't just talk to those you know. Look for people who have useful skills. Try to contact already organized groups, complete with members and active operations (trade unions are an example).
Step 4. Recruit intellectuals
It is easier to stimulate a revolution when the cause is supported by intellectuals, which means professors, researchers, writers, artists, speakers and journalists.
- Intellectuals can help build the rationale for the revolution by articulating a compelling theory. They can provide facts that will help defend the cause. Many revolutions are triggered by deeper persuasion work, consider for example the letter from Martin Luther King Junior from Birmingham prison. King wrote this letter from prison in response to a statement written by eight white clergymen from the southern United States. It became a central document within the civil rights movement, weakened the opposition and garnered support.
- Intellectuals can also help create a coherent and clear vision that can excite the masses, stimulating them to imagine a different future. Intellectuals can come up with ideas about what the new world or the new system will be like.
Step 5. Talk to scientists
The controversy is important, but giving a scientific foundation to the movement can be particularly effective.
- Consider the global warming debate: science is very important to ecological movements as they need hard evidence to back up their ideas.
- The cause of the movement must be related to academic research that has gained recognition in the field in question. These ideas must also be respected by those who are not directly involved in the movement. It will be much more difficult for the opposition to refute these arguments.
Method 3 of 4: Deliver the Message
Step 1. Remember the power of art and music
The rationale for a revolution can come from any artistic field and sphere of popular culture. You don't have to focus on the written word alone.
- Oratory, poetry, music and art in general (including public art) can inspire and convey your message with great efficiency.
- Some types of art are permanent. Consider the murals painted in key points of the city. Music has the ability to influence minds across the planet. Try to humanize the movement. Touch people's hearts by telling true stories that stimulate identification and empathy.
Step 2. Make the most of the potential of new media
You can also start a revolution thanks to the quality of your ideas. The Internet has given everyone the opportunity to make themselves known and address a wide audience.
- Start a blog on WordPress or another platform. Write it consistently and make it known. At its core, it lays the intellectual foundation by explaining why a change needs to be made. Explain what results you hope to achieve and what benefits your readers would gain.
- Consider other techniques. You could make a documentary to educate and motivate the audience. Don't underestimate the power of a short video. A YouTube series might be for you. Don't use just one social promotion strategy: use old and new means. It uses the written word, but also the visual arts. Use social networks and blogs, but also get your message across through newspapers and magazines. Promote it using multiple formats and mechanisms.
Step 3. Use social networks to organize yourself
Harness the power of social networks. They are very effective for getting your message across to a large number of people.
- You can use social networks to promote events, get people to participate and speak to your true target audience.
- Just remember that social networks are not enough on their own, your strategy must be varied. Revolutions are most effective when organized on multiple fronts, so you fight in front of a screen, but also on the go. Encourage people to support you by handing out flyers and brochures, using the word of mouth method and advertising you with today's technological means.
Step 4. Structure the debate
You can do this by choosing your words carefully. Determine your model of morality, which for example can be that of the "protective parent" or the "strict father".
- Words like "freedom" trigger an emotional response. Connect your words to people's needs and your overall mission.
- Persuade using a combination of pathos (leverage emotions), logos (leverage reason), and ethos (leverage ethics). Back up your ideas with logical reasoning and facts, but also add a hint of emotion.
- It demonstrates the movement's popularity to individuals working in fields such as government, law and the military. The more popular it is within society, the less likely it is of violent repression to occur.
Step 5. Remember that people will have different reactions to change
According to some researchers, this process consists of five stages.
- The first phase is that of "uninformed optimism". It's a kind of honeymoon. Energy and enthusiasm will not be lacking. However, problems will start to appear and "informed pessimism" will take hold. Certain efforts may be abandoned.
- To move forward with the movement, you will need some hopeful realism, which will be the third stage. It will be implemented when you begin to reap the rewards despite the problems. With the "informed optimism" phase, security will return, as progress is being made. Finally, when you can demonstrate concrete results and communicate them, the phase of fulfillment and gratification will develop.
Method 4 of 4: Choose a Strategy
Step 1. Take action
This is the most important step because otherwise the revolution will die. You need to take concrete action, whether it's a nonviolent protest, a sit-in or a boycott.
- The leader must motivate the people, work conscientiously day and night to promote the revolution. At some point, however, it will be necessary to act, not just to write or speak.
- The prevailing power will defend itself, after all this is its nature. Illegitimate governments will oppose the riots of the people they seek to subjugate and will do everything to destroy the resistance. Remember that your goal is the heart of your operation, consent is the mind of the revolution, and the actions you take together with the other participants are the arm of the revolution.
Step 2. Work from the inside
Try to take a decision-making position in the most important institutions. Those who have studied historical revolutions, such as Saul Alinsky, argue that it is a slow process and requires patience.
- It penetrates the institutions that have power in society, including churches, trade unions and political parties. Gain some leverage to take decision-making power.
- Once you have more power, use this new platform to make changes in the system. Adapt and be flexible. Revolutionary movements must mold themselves to political events, which can change. It is important to be resilient.
Step 3. Look for a target
To define your movement, you will need an opposition or a contrast. Choose a target and distinguish it in a personal way and then polarize it. Don't follow the path of violence. According to research, nonviolent resistance campaigns are twice as likely to triumph.
- Lock the target by focusing on it, whether it's an institution or a specific leader. Create direct opposition between your strengths and the enemy's weaknesses. This theory was illustrated in the book The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. Perhaps the opponent has a stronger army, but you are smarter.
- Never hurt anyone. You can be more persuasive by focusing on the words and actions of an institution, group, or person you have targeted.
Step 4. Study the revolutions of the past
You can undertake a change modeled on some principles that have already worked. History is full of successful revolutions, just think of the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the civil rights movement of African Americans.
- Revolutions often begin by wreaking havoc on the old system and on the ancient or established organizations of society. They create confusion by testing traditional foundations and principles. Human history is full of revolutions of different kinds in terms of methods, duration, motivating ideology and number of participants. The results obtained include major changes affecting cultural, economic and socio-political institutions.
- Once the old system is dismantled, the new one can be better organized. Come up with winning tactics. Remember that enemies fear you because they think your movement is powerful. Keep applying pressure. Ridicule the system. Let the enemy trust in those rules he believes are unbeatable. Change tactics, as strategies can lose their effectiveness when used for a long time.
Step 5. Try civil disobedience
Some come to the conclusion that political channels are not effective, so they take to the streets to demonstrate people's power.
- For example, consider the protests against the chemical industries in China and the marches in Washington D. C. as the one against the abuse of power by the police.
- You can try to work from the inside, but when it doesn't work you can work from the outside. But try to get noticed, for example by going on a hunger strike or a mass protest.
Step 6. Plan the protest
Research public space rules. Choose your time wisely (for example, more people can participate on a Friday afternoon).
- Choose a place of public interest, for example an area where government buildings are located, and a local political issue to attract people. Look for a public space that can promote good pedestrian transit. Find out about the permits and regulations in your city to comply with them.
- Make sure decisions are made collectively. Set up stands, or organize artistic exhibitions to better convey the message. You could offer free services to remember everything that the company is taking away. For example, if you want to denounce cuts in education, you can set up a kind of library where people can exchange books. In any case, respect the law.
Advice
- If you want to change the world, you have to change yourself first.
- If you are looking to become powerful or to be recognized solely on a personal level, you are not doing anyone a favor.
- To be successful, you need to get fully involved in your ideals and believe in them. Compromising can lead to failure.
- Determine who or what you are doing this for. Also, be aware of all that could be lost.
- Always use the truth, never give in to the temptation of power or money. Believe in your cause and your supporters. Making a revolution means believing in it.
- Unity is strength. If many people participate in the movement and it is united, the chances of obtaining the desired result will be higher.
- Remember to trust the people you fight for. I am your future.
- Try to always consider the big picture. Don't get lost in the details.
- Accept the contribution of others. One person cannot make a revolution. Don't behave like a despot and don't be in control. Promote equality.
- Listen to your heart and think about the main needs.
Warnings
- The revolution is not just about you, but the community. Don't try to use it to become famous.
- As has happened with many past revolutions, you could be killed in war, attacked, tortured, imprisoned and so on by powerful people who want to protect their interests. This does not mean that a movement and a cause cannot impose themselves (with the right determination). Those in power will try to threaten and extinguish the fire of the revolution before being consumed by it.
- Try to get an idea of the society you want to live in after the revolution. If structures are not set up to replace the current ones, innocent people could suffer the consequences.
- Never let the goal of the revolution be reduced to the will of a single person or group. Participants should only be guided by following the legitimate cause they believe in.
