Social Revolution in the Arab World

Abstract

The very definition of Al-thawriyyah (revolutionism) points to the primary area where revolutionism has failed in the Middle East. Correctly interpreted, revolutionism incorporates the masses in a basic attitudinal change toward social and economic (as well as political) life; the people participate in the formulation of new value systems and criteria of thought. This is further emphasized by the Arabic word for socialism, al-eshtrakiah, which, literally translated, means "participation." And it is exactly this participation that is not found in the present-day movements in the Arab countries.

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