What is Required for a Successful Total Revolution to Take Place

A successful total revolution must have strong leadership, ideology (scapegoat=reinterpreting the past, utopia=foretelling the future), propaganda, terror/force, and a way of twisting the truth. Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Castro and others had all these and were successful in leading revolutions.

Strong leadership includes charisma, dynamity, and confidence. Often, citizens of a totalitarian-led country look up to their leader-as if he was a hero or an object of awe. This power lets leaders direct their country to their will. Castro's citizens loved him.

Ideology is important to let citizens know what their leader stands for. Finding a scapegoat is reinterpreting the past. Hitler's scapegoat was the Jewish population. He made Germany believe that the Jews were responsible for everything that ever went wrong in the history of their country. Using terms like "lice" and "subhuman" to describe Jews, Hitler made clear who Germany's enemy was.

Using a utopian vision to foretell the future was Hitler's, Castro's, etc. "goal" that was broadcast to their people. Hitler's utopia was a Jew-free Germany, complete with the "super race" of people that were left.

Propaganda is also necessary for a successful revolution. Propaganda can consist of leaflets, pamphlets, etc. that convince or notify citizens of the country's goal. They restate the utopian vision and what steps their leader will take to get them there. Propaganda must contain a lot of convincing, persuasive information and only a tiny bit of it may be true.

Terror/force is also necessary. If citizens don't fear their leader, then they won't follow them. One shudders at the thought of Hitler exterminating millions of Jews during the years of the Holocaust. Stalin had government officials killed one by one. This type of action makes citizens fear their leader more than God. They take orders even though they might know that they are immoral.

Twisting the truth is very important in a successful revolution. If one really thinks about the theories of Mao's, Hitler's, Castro's, etc. ideology, it doesn't make sense. None of their reasoning can hold any water. So why did their people follow them? Because it was an excuse to harbor common prejudices. The most successful element in bringing people together is hate and prejudice. Hitler's followers must have known in their hearts that killing an entire race was wrong. But if they had any prejudice against Jews, that may have been their smallest foothold on how they could take orders from a murderer.