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by kenrikm 4054 days ago
I can't think of a single revolution that ended with a better government replacing the existing one except for the American one. Russia, Cuba, Iran, etc.. don't make the odds seem likely.
5 comments

I can, specially in Europe.

One good example might be the Portuguese Carnation Revolution that took place in 1974. It overthrew a corporatist dictatorship where private enterprise created a feudal system based on state sponsored monopolies handed out to a few families. The dictator himself was apparently modest in his life style, but his friends running the monopolies were very wealthy. Life for the common person improved significantly after the revolution with access to free health-care, more education and better worker rights.

1989 eastern germany - we call it revolution
please note, that 1989 in eastern Europe was specifically towards democracy and capitalism, against communism and revolutionary state socialism!
Sounds like the American educational system at work
Ever heard about the French Revolution?
In the short run they got Robespierre. However, in the long run things certainly got better. In the meantime the UK still has a queen and the House of Lords. So maybe having Robespierre was worth it.
England also have a revolution few years before the French one, only that it was much less bloody and radical.
You mention Russia, and I'll add China. Both countries were massively feudal and got brought forcefully into the 20th century for one, and into the 21st century for the other, over the course of a few decades. The GDP increases of both countries were astronomical once they settled into state capitalism (early for the Soviet Union, after a few decades for China).

Cuba is a more mixed bag because they don't have the benefit of the massive geographic and population sizes that the previous two countries have, but for the ordinary Cuban, for a few decades, the gains were astronomical.

The seeds of the Iranian revolution were that of a popular, anti-colonial revolt, before it got high-jacked by the clerics and turned into a theocratic shitshow.

The Russian one improved greatly the life of the Russian people. They ended living oppressed under a dictatorship, but it was miles better than starving under the Tsar's monarchy.
I'd like to call you on that. Russian communism led to gigantic starvation and mass executions (pre WWII), i believe the biggest one yet
I absolutely agree with you, but it's worth mentioning that communism brought some temporal and local improvements to the lives of some people that is used for arguing for communism. E.g. an individual from a poor family who could study engineering was probably satisfied with the changes. But the big picture is pretty bad anyway.