Exploratory Essay- Where will Greece be in 5 years based on the past revolutions of France and Russia?
In this essay I will explore the Greek Crisis and evaluate possible outcomes of where Greece will be in five years from now based on the past revolutions of Russia and France. The modern day issue of Greece is their obscene amount of debt ($485 billion) and their tactics to overcome this economic crisis and high percentage of unemployment throughout the country. I will begin to connect my past and present revolutions referring to the past outcomes of France and Russia’s revolutions. The social conditions in pre-revolution France reflected how the economy was doing at that given time; people were unemployed along with restricted abilities and freedom under the same law of the church and nobility. On top of this, the Third Estate paid almost all of the taxes and watched the higher classes live in complete luxury. The tension between groups led to revolution because members of the lower classes demanded change and knew society would listen, because without the Third Estate, France wouldn’t of been able to function. Russia’s members of society were also exceptionally dissatisfied with treatment of lower and working classes and how the government was managing Russia, which initiated the Russian Revolution. While comparing these revolutions the similarities are evident but there is also a large contrast between certain aspects of the revolutions.
In this paragraph I will be comparing social conditions of pre-revolution France to present day social conditions in Greece. 17th century France was a time of hardship and unsettling revolt, similar to America, many citizens were far below the line of poverty. Social conditions for a small minority of people were exceptional (the 1st and 2nd Estates). The well-off families and individuals, along with aristocracy, those related to the royal family, lived in absolute luxury. However conditions for the majority of the working class were very difficult. That majority of the lower and working class worked on land, owned small businesses as vendors or store owners, or lived in poverty in large cities. In addition, disease was widespread, malnutrition was common, and generally people just worked to live. To say that the rich aristocrats didn’t care about the lower class was an understatement; they not only didn’t care, but they continually increased taxation on common goods so that the poor became even poorer, and the rich even richer. And just to clarify, 97% of people were considered in the middle or lower class. This large amount of people in the lower classes led to attempts at revolt because of poor living conditions and ridiculous taxes which led to the French Revolution. These social conditions in pre-revolution France are similar to present day conditions in Greece. “20% of Greece is in poverty, yet food shortage is not a concern”. People are currently unable to feed their families and are becoming more and more frustrated and upset with the government. Greece does not have a shortage of food or any issues getting it, yet may of its people are having trouble providing food for themselves. This is because of the government’ tough austerity measures, that inflation on food and other domestic goods has increased dramatically. This is the element that causes tough times for Greece and is essentially what drives their violence, causing outbursts and protests.
In these next two paragraphs I will be comparing the past events of Russia: Bloody Sunday and talking about leveling of the classes to the present day Greece Crisis. 19th century Russia was similar to 17th century France, a country that was poverty stricken, containing citizens complaining about unfair prices and taxations. Life in Russia at this time wasn’t exactly beneficial to the lower and working classes. The working felt frustrated because of the meager pay, in result of their long hours at work. The growing gap between the lower and upper classes created a society of people that felt like life was generally unfair, wanted change, and eventually wanted to do something about it. Sure enough, the lower class of Russian society worked together to create a petition where they stated all of the changes they thought they deserved and planned to march to the Czar’s palace and show him their demands for change. In the Worker’s Petition, some of the key points that were being asked for included: reasonable working hours and fair and consistent pay, education provided by the state for all, and equal treatment under the law for all. On Sunday, January 22, 1905, a peaceful protest rapidly turned into a massacre, with several hundred killed and nearly a thousand injured. Upon seeing the masses of people, the Czar’s general ordered the military to fire at the crowd resulting in massive blood loss. Many blamed the Czar for the lost lives and felt this event only continued to disprove the theory that the Czar truly didn’t care about the well-being of his people. The event of Bloody Sunday connects to the current crisis in Greece. The riots are often very violent, but not severe as Bloody Sunday. In Greece, the motive behind rioting is because of intense frustration and anger, which continues to cause civil unrest. Demonstrations and marches continue to take place without action from political leadership.
The Russian revolution and the present day Greece crisis are similar in the how the leader wants to take from the rich and give it to the poor. The majority of the population were peasant farmers or the working class who earned very little for their long, hard hours at work. These people were separated from the wealthy in Russia, which created a huge economic gap. To solve the problems of the poor, the Czar Alexander II was instituting measures to take form the rich and give to the poor. He took half of all the land in Russia from the wealthy and gave it to the peasants tied to the land and freed them. Eventually the idea that giving to the poor from the rich was better for the country was adopted by most of the citizens and eventually the country of Russia turned to a socialist economy. This event of leveling classes connects to the present day crisis in Greece; taking land from the rich and giving it to the poor. Austerity measures explain it better: they’re taxes on luxuries, but only the wealthy had luxuries. Basically it hurts the wealthy and brings the higher and lower classes together to abolish the poorly created gap between classes.
I feel that the understanding of the French and Russian revolutions will help me to predict and determine the outcome of the Greece Crisis. Russia's turn to socialism from a monarchy in the early 1900’s was driven by vast separation between the rich and the poor. Socialism was appealing because it still gave some power to the people, while maintaining the “equal” society that a communist system promised. Since the old form of government was putting the majority of the population in poverty, the lower class began to petition for change to insure the adoption of socialism and end of the monarchy. The social conditions leading up to the rise of socialism are similar to the ones in appearing in Greece right now. At least 20% of the nation is in poverty, indicating a growing gap between the rich and the poor. Many people want the condition of their lives to improve, and feel that a more balanced society would stimulate economic prosperity to everyone. This revolution was successful because the form of government changed from a monarchy (Czar) to Socialism. Greece's government system will also be changed in 5 years solving its economy and making it a successful revolution. And in France, there were three main social classes in France, the 1st estate, consisting of nobility, the 2nd estate, or the church, and the 3rd estate, which consisted of everyone else. Instead of the government imposing taxes on everyone in an equal manner, the upper class of society refused to pay taxes, while the lower class appeared to be drowning in them. So French society stayed the same; the rich were living in luxury, while the lower and working class had to pay all the taxes. Currently, in Greece, one of Lucas Papademos's plan is to increase taxation on luxury goods, therefore directly aiming to increase taxation on the wealthy, in an attempt to financially balance out the country, hopefully lifting some weight from the lower and middle classes shoulders. But the wealthy do not want to give up their lifestyles, just so they can help out the rest of the country. And the lower and middle classes feel that if anyone should be paying higher taxes, it should be the wealthy since higher taxes won't affect their lifestyles too much, or more importantly, their ability to put food on the tables for their families. The French Revolution was successful because the form of government changed from a monarchy to a democracy. Greece's government will also result in a drastic change within the next 5 years making its' economy stable, the social conditions resolved, and an overall successful revolution. Based on these past revolutions I predict that the crisis and Greece will be resolved in 5 years from now.
In this paragraph I will be comparing social conditions of pre-revolution France to present day social conditions in Greece. 17th century France was a time of hardship and unsettling revolt, similar to America, many citizens were far below the line of poverty. Social conditions for a small minority of people were exceptional (the 1st and 2nd Estates). The well-off families and individuals, along with aristocracy, those related to the royal family, lived in absolute luxury. However conditions for the majority of the working class were very difficult. That majority of the lower and working class worked on land, owned small businesses as vendors or store owners, or lived in poverty in large cities. In addition, disease was widespread, malnutrition was common, and generally people just worked to live. To say that the rich aristocrats didn’t care about the lower class was an understatement; they not only didn’t care, but they continually increased taxation on common goods so that the poor became even poorer, and the rich even richer. And just to clarify, 97% of people were considered in the middle or lower class. This large amount of people in the lower classes led to attempts at revolt because of poor living conditions and ridiculous taxes which led to the French Revolution. These social conditions in pre-revolution France are similar to present day conditions in Greece. “20% of Greece is in poverty, yet food shortage is not a concern”. People are currently unable to feed their families and are becoming more and more frustrated and upset with the government. Greece does not have a shortage of food or any issues getting it, yet may of its people are having trouble providing food for themselves. This is because of the government’ tough austerity measures, that inflation on food and other domestic goods has increased dramatically. This is the element that causes tough times for Greece and is essentially what drives their violence, causing outbursts and protests.
In these next two paragraphs I will be comparing the past events of Russia: Bloody Sunday and talking about leveling of the classes to the present day Greece Crisis. 19th century Russia was similar to 17th century France, a country that was poverty stricken, containing citizens complaining about unfair prices and taxations. Life in Russia at this time wasn’t exactly beneficial to the lower and working classes. The working felt frustrated because of the meager pay, in result of their long hours at work. The growing gap between the lower and upper classes created a society of people that felt like life was generally unfair, wanted change, and eventually wanted to do something about it. Sure enough, the lower class of Russian society worked together to create a petition where they stated all of the changes they thought they deserved and planned to march to the Czar’s palace and show him their demands for change. In the Worker’s Petition, some of the key points that were being asked for included: reasonable working hours and fair and consistent pay, education provided by the state for all, and equal treatment under the law for all. On Sunday, January 22, 1905, a peaceful protest rapidly turned into a massacre, with several hundred killed and nearly a thousand injured. Upon seeing the masses of people, the Czar’s general ordered the military to fire at the crowd resulting in massive blood loss. Many blamed the Czar for the lost lives and felt this event only continued to disprove the theory that the Czar truly didn’t care about the well-being of his people. The event of Bloody Sunday connects to the current crisis in Greece. The riots are often very violent, but not severe as Bloody Sunday. In Greece, the motive behind rioting is because of intense frustration and anger, which continues to cause civil unrest. Demonstrations and marches continue to take place without action from political leadership.
The Russian revolution and the present day Greece crisis are similar in the how the leader wants to take from the rich and give it to the poor. The majority of the population were peasant farmers or the working class who earned very little for their long, hard hours at work. These people were separated from the wealthy in Russia, which created a huge economic gap. To solve the problems of the poor, the Czar Alexander II was instituting measures to take form the rich and give to the poor. He took half of all the land in Russia from the wealthy and gave it to the peasants tied to the land and freed them. Eventually the idea that giving to the poor from the rich was better for the country was adopted by most of the citizens and eventually the country of Russia turned to a socialist economy. This event of leveling classes connects to the present day crisis in Greece; taking land from the rich and giving it to the poor. Austerity measures explain it better: they’re taxes on luxuries, but only the wealthy had luxuries. Basically it hurts the wealthy and brings the higher and lower classes together to abolish the poorly created gap between classes.
I feel that the understanding of the French and Russian revolutions will help me to predict and determine the outcome of the Greece Crisis. Russia's turn to socialism from a monarchy in the early 1900’s was driven by vast separation between the rich and the poor. Socialism was appealing because it still gave some power to the people, while maintaining the “equal” society that a communist system promised. Since the old form of government was putting the majority of the population in poverty, the lower class began to petition for change to insure the adoption of socialism and end of the monarchy. The social conditions leading up to the rise of socialism are similar to the ones in appearing in Greece right now. At least 20% of the nation is in poverty, indicating a growing gap between the rich and the poor. Many people want the condition of their lives to improve, and feel that a more balanced society would stimulate economic prosperity to everyone. This revolution was successful because the form of government changed from a monarchy (Czar) to Socialism. Greece's government system will also be changed in 5 years solving its economy and making it a successful revolution. And in France, there were three main social classes in France, the 1st estate, consisting of nobility, the 2nd estate, or the church, and the 3rd estate, which consisted of everyone else. Instead of the government imposing taxes on everyone in an equal manner, the upper class of society refused to pay taxes, while the lower class appeared to be drowning in them. So French society stayed the same; the rich were living in luxury, while the lower and working class had to pay all the taxes. Currently, in Greece, one of Lucas Papademos's plan is to increase taxation on luxury goods, therefore directly aiming to increase taxation on the wealthy, in an attempt to financially balance out the country, hopefully lifting some weight from the lower and middle classes shoulders. But the wealthy do not want to give up their lifestyles, just so they can help out the rest of the country. And the lower and middle classes feel that if anyone should be paying higher taxes, it should be the wealthy since higher taxes won't affect their lifestyles too much, or more importantly, their ability to put food on the tables for their families. The French Revolution was successful because the form of government changed from a monarchy to a democracy. Greece's government will also result in a drastic change within the next 5 years making its' economy stable, the social conditions resolved, and an overall successful revolution. Based on these past revolutions I predict that the crisis and Greece will be resolved in 5 years from now.