What Is A Revolution? – Catholic Herald
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Home Matters of the Moment

What Is A Revolution?

by admin
August 13, 2019
in Matters of the Moment
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We have been inundat-
ed with several and

differing explanations
and meaning of the
word “revolution” in the last one
week, following the protest planned
by Revolution Now, a group led by
Omoyele Sowore, Sahara Reporters

publisher and presidential candi-
date of the African Action Congress

Party in the last election. Sowore was
arrested last Saturday.
Legal minds have provided their
own analysis of the meanings. Public

Affairs and security experts have giv-
en their own versions. These motley

of definitions and explanations are
being proffered by these groups to
help the average person understand
what the group is calling for and
whether it is actionable as a crime or
reasonable as the security agencies
seem to infer.

Unfortunately, the proponent, Sow-
ore himself is not available to tell us

the meaning or extent of his call for a
revolution.
So, what is a revolution?

Let us see what the different English
dictionaries say before we go jumping
into the fray with our own analysis
and version.

The Longman Dictionary of Con-
temporary English says revolution

as a countable noun is ‘a complete
change in ways of thinking, methods
of working etc’. For instance,
‘In the last ten years there has been

a revolution in education’ or ‘the big-
gest social revolution we have had in

this country’ or ‘the sexual revolution
of the 1960s’.

As an uncountable or even counta-
ble noun, it can refer to ‘a time when

people change a ruler or political
system by using force or violence’, like
‘the French Revolution of 1789 , ‘the
role of women has changed since the
revolution’ or ‘the country seems to
be heading towards revolution’.
Still as a countable or uncountable
noun, Longman says revolution is a

circular movement around some-
thing, e.g. the planets’ revolution

around the Sun.
As a full countable noun, revolution
is also one complete circular spinning
movement, made by something such
as a wheel attached to a central point.

To revolve at a speed of 100 revolu-
tions per minute.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary
defines revolution as:

  1. The action by a celestial body of
    going round in an orbit or elliptical
    course. Also, an apparent movement
    of such a body round the earth.
  2. The time taken by a celestial body
    to make a complete round in its orbit.
  3. The rotation of a celestial body on
    its axis.
  4. Completion of a course (as of
    years). Also : the period made by
    the regular succession of a measure
    of time or by a succession of similar
    events or a progressive motion of
    a body around an axis so that any
    line of the body parallel to the axis
    returns to its initial position while

remaining parallel to the axis in tran-
sit and usually at a constant distance

from it.

  1. A sudden, radical, or complete
    change, i.e. like a fundamental change
    in political organization, especially
    the overthrow or renunciation of one

government or ruler and the substitu-
tion of another by the governed. This

also include an activity or movement
designed to effect fundamental
changes in the socio-economic
situation.

  1. A fundamental change in the
    way of thinking about or visualizing
    something: a change of paradigm.
    This can also refer to a changeover in

use or preference especially in tech-
nology, like the computer revolution

or the foreign car revolution.
Collins Dictionary has its own
definitions – a successful attempt by
a large group of people to change the
political system of their country by
force or a revolution in a particular
area of human activity as a change in
that area.
It lists the following:

  1. The overthrow or repudiation of
    a regime or political system by the
    governed.
  2. In Marxist theory, it is the
    violent transition from one system of
    production in a society to the next, as
    from feudalism to capitalism.
  3. A far-reaching and drastic
    change, especially in ideas and
    methods.
  4. Movement in or as if in a circle
    resulting in one complete turn in
    such a circle.
  5. The orbital motion of one body,
    such as a planet or satellite around
    another – one complete turn in such
    motion.
    So, there you are – revolution with
    different faces and meanings. Which
    is which?
    One thing is sure: our learned
    friends will continue to give us legal
    interpretations of all these definitions
    and smile to the bank as usual if the
    issues end up in court.
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