Human Relationships

Human relationships have always been dynamic. Change and

adaptability have gone hand in hand with the passage of time for human

society. Systems have been developed to regulate, direct and control

the resources of this society. The systems are referred to as

governments and the resources as the populace or inhabitants and forces

of production. A government must be dynamic in its nature reflecting the

change in society. At times these systems have resisted the necessity

to adapt with its components (Society) creating a deficit between the

system and those it regulates. As the deficits develop, they cause

instability, and could lead to revolution.1

Theories have been developed to explain the systemic phenomenon

called revolution. This paper will discuss three modern theories and

apply them to the English revolution of 1640. The first theory,

developed by Carl Marx (Marxism), will address the economic evolution in

English society. This theory will emphasize and explain how the shift

from a feudal/mercantile system to capitalism affected English society.

The second, called the Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) developed by

Charles Tilly, will explain how the English organizations (the Crown and

the Parliament) effectively obtained, amassed and managed resources.

Samuel Huntington's, "Institutional Theory", will argue that the

existing government at that time was unable to incorporate the demands

and personnel that the socio-economic changes created.

Marxism was formulated in the 19th century. Carl Marx and his

associate Frederick Engels observed the socio-economic changes that were

transpiring in Britain. England was the dominant world power and had

the largest industrialized economy during the 1800's. The development

of the factory and the institution of the assembly line created a large

demand for workers. This demand was satiated by migrating peasant from

the rural areas in England and Ireland to developing urban centers. As

these urban centers or cities evolved using industry as the economic

backbone for the population, a large number of factory workers were

accumulated to operate the machinery in horrid conditions. These

workers, which would be termed as the peasantry under a feudal system,

were now the working class or proletariat. They entered cities with

hopes of bettering their lives and survival. Though revolution never

took place in England during this period, it allowed Marx to study

industrialization, urbanization and imperialism.

The theory of Marxism has three basic concepts: historic

materialism, forces of production and relations of production. Historic

materialism is defined as a society's past performance and present

capabilities of satisfying the basic means of life. Humankind's basic

needs of eating, drinking and shelter need to be met properly. The

forces of production (technology, capital, the infrastructure of

society, etc.) are important for the simple fact of who ever controls

them controls the society. The last aspect of Marxism, the relations of

production, deals directly with the relationships between classes of

people (the aristocracy, the middle-class and the working class).2

Marxism includes a predictive analysis of socio-economic

structures. Using history, logic and the dynamic nature of humankind as

guidelines, Carl Marx attempts to map out a sequence of events which

will eventually lead to utopia (anarchy). In his work, Das Capital,

Marx details the six steps. These steps are primitive socialism,

feudalism, capitalism, socialism, communism and then anarchy.

The evolution of the English economic system during the 16th and

17th centuries points to a shift from feudalism to capitalism. This

shift is exemplified by the enclosures. The landlords began to fence

their