Middle-Class Revolutions in the Third World

Third World revolutions. whether socialist or milddle class. reflect the failure of dependent capitalism as a model for balianced development. a nationalistic reaction to dependency on imperialism anci to underde:velopment. a popular desire for political participation and social justice. anld a strong desire to return to the native culture and way of life. Where capitalism has lost its legitimacy and socialist forces have been unable to offer a viable alternative. middle-class revolutions have become increasingly attractive. These revolutions are made by a broad coalition of popular forces under the leadership of the middle-class intelligentsia: such Irevolutions often adopt an indigenous ideology and are predominantly nationlalistic in nature. The Iranian Revolution is a case in point. Implementation of the capitalist growth model between the 1950s and 1970s generated poverty. income and spatial concentration. uneven sectoral development, dependency. cultural destruction. denationalization. and dictatorship. I In conjunction with memories of the Shah's illegitimate return to power with the help of the CIA in 1953 and his despotic methods of governing for more than thirty years. the problems led to the speedy loss of the legitimacy of the status quo for the majority. Coupled with a complex of other historical. slDciocultural. economic. and political factors (particularly the long and continued legacy of revolutionary political activism). the system's illegitimacy fueled the rlE!volutionary movement that began in 197B} Among the contending forces. the middle class was most prepared to lead the Iranian Revolution: It had not only quantitative superiority but also qualitative advantage over both the upper and the lower classes. An absolute majority of the Iranian intelligentsia critical of the Shah's policies were among the middle class. A good number of intellectuals among them subscribed to socialist ideals. but many more (both religious and secular) were nationalistic