The Beatles’ Revolution: Idealistic Individualism

Flickr : Thomas Duchnicki

I love the Beatles. Any difference in opinion between I and their lyrics is not something that will make me love them any less. Still it’s interesting (and I suppose expected) just how much the song “Revolution” reflects the what I consider both the misguided ideals of the 60’s as well as the misguided ideals of most of the socialist groups of the 60’s.

The song “Revolution” reflects the very Buddhist idea that if we simply alter our own consciousness, we can change the world. This is a beautiful sentiment, but its success is based on the idea that everyone who comes in contact with that idea will want to be a part of it and will also agree with one another on just what being fully conscious means when it comes to improving the world.

Interestingly, although the 60’s was a very love-your-neighbor and unify kind of time, it was also the beginning of corporate individualism’s stranglehold on America, when buying things that made you unique (rather than seeking acceptance by following the herd, which was more the 50’s and before angle) really took hold.

This Buddhist take on change is very individualist and as we know, the problem with extreme individualism is that it can lead to a heavier emphasis on personal responsibility and blaming the victim than considering what environmental or institutional circumstances may be causing a given problem.

The misguided ideals of the socialists of the time were perhaps understandable, as the only purported socialist states revolutionaries had to look to at the time were Mao and Stalin, which is why we have groups like Revolution (of Revolution Books) who look to those two as examples of genuine socialism. I’m with the Beatles on this point, that “if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow”. Perhaps if they were carrying pictures of Marx and Lenin, they would have been a bit better off.