The Dark Truth About Revolutionaries: Why They Often Become the Monsters They Replace
Radicalism feels righteous—until it becomes a lust for power.
“Again, some radicals do have visions of creating something better, after they tear down what is. Radical Marxists have a utopia waiting for them at the end of history. But it is a truism that embracing radical means in pursuit of some lofty end tends to result in a love of radicalism for its own sake. Che Guevara, Lenin, the Jacobins, the Weather Underground: they all may have started with lofty goals, but ended up seduced by the thrill of violence and terror. This happens because radicalism tends to manifest itself as a lust for power, and the lust for power is then used to justify further radicalism.
Still, some radicals do succeed in toppling the established order, but the new order they create is often far worse than what they destroyed. And because they rejected the rule of law in pursuit of power, they tend to use law merely as a means to rule for their own benefit. This is the story of countless ‘national liberation’ movements of the left and the right. The once-lofty ideas about the ends they sought are replaced by authoritarian or totalitarian juntas. This story is so common it would be easier to list the exceptions than the examples.”
— Jonah Goldberg
I've been thinking about this quote for a while because it cuts deep into something I've observed more and more lately—not just in history books but also in conversations I've had with friends.
I used to be fascinated by revolutionaries. When I was younger, Che Guevara shirts were everywhere. They still are. But I didn't know what Che had actually done back then. I just saw the defiant image and bought into the symbol. After speaking with a fellow musician at a gig and finding out he had a family that had left Cuba, I found out about what he had done. He actually said, "Fuck Che!" I was stunned and asked him why he would say such a thing. But as he told me the truth and after I did more digging, I learned more about the man behind the myth and about the killings, the show trials, and the authoritarian zeal. Suddenly, that shirt didn't look so cool anymore.
And this isn't just about Che, Lenin, or PolPot. It's about what happens when people are so obsessed with breaking a system that they lose sight of what comes after—or worse, they never really cared in the first place.
They say power corrupts. But radicalism? It intoxicates. It turns grievance into identity and identity into action, no matter the cost. And once the adrenaline hits, the mission shifts. It's no longer about liberation or justice, it's about control. The revolution becomes permanent. The purge becomes the point.
We've seen it play out repeatedly, from Venezuela to Cambodia to campus protest movements here at home. One minute, people are quoting noble-sounding manifestos; the next, they're torching buildings, canceling dissent, or imposing ideological purity tests. And when they do seize power? The very same laws they once condemned suddenly become tools to crush opposition.
What started as an attempt to fix oppression morphs into something just as brutal, just dressed in new colors under new slogans.
That's the part folks don't talk about enough.
This is why I've grown skeptical of movements that make no room for doubt, humility, or process. I keep one eye open when I see movements that demand destruction without a plan for reconstruction. Movements that reject institutions only to rebuild them in their own image…worse, meaner, more vengeful.
If you want real change, it's not as sexy as smashing things. It's about building, maintaining, convincing, listening, and risking being wrong. It's slow and frustrating, but it's the only way to avoid repeating this all-too-familiar pattern, where the revolution eats its own.
As I get older, I'm less impressed with those who shout the loudest and more interested in those who think deeply, speak plainly, and build slowly.
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