Reform, revolution, transformation

Abstract

The window of opportunity for change is closing, we are constantly being told. Will reforms come soon enough, or do we need a revolution? However, wouldn't it take too long for people to become ready for a revolution? Both concepts - reform and revolution - have long polarised the left debate, and yet both have been questioned. In this essay, I would like to show the necessity for an analysis and an evaluation of the strategic meanings of these terms. Since both have their weaknesses, I would like to propose the introduction of the term 'transformation' - not only as a third term, which might reconcile or supersede the other two, but rather in order to bring a dialectical process into motion by means of which the concepts of reform and revolution might mutually stimulate one another.