Lessons of History - Evolution or Revolution

I recently reading an excellent book about the Spanish Civil War (Spain in Our Hearts, by Adam Hochschild).  Looking back on the events of 80+ years ago in Spain keeps bringing to mind the Arab Spring.  It also brings to mind the Berns call for a new Revolution.

We memorialize, indeed almost worship, our own founding fathers revolution, and tend to see revolutions around the world by people seeking government by the people as a wonderful thing.

But looking back at history one is tempted to conclude our revolution was as successful as it was in part because of fortuitous circumstances that seldom arise in modern reality.  Our revolt against England was relatively amicable, we were culturally nearly identical and England was far away so atrocities were few and in the end England's pride was dented and they lost some tax Revenue, but the battle was more a test of wills.   The English public would not have tolerated the sort of scorched earth military tactics England might have used to put down a revolt by their darker skinned subjects in other parts of the world.

Revolutions within a single country tend to be much uglier, more like our own Civil War.  Zero sum games where the losers are crippled and carry resentments for generations. 

The Spanish Civil War, like the Arab Spring involved uprisings where the powers that be were pushed aside by an left leaning modernist uprisings seeking to completely remake society.  They are inherently zero sum games, for every gain by the people there are huge losses by the upper strata of the society.  The people gain an apparent victory, only to have a more repressive regime imposed militarily.

In Spain Franco ruled for 40 years or so and it was only after he died that modern democracy could begin to develop in Spain.  Is this what the Arab Spring countries can look forward to?

Certainly in most of the famous revolutions of recent history - Russia in 1917. Spain, China after WW II - revolution produced decades of repression and misery. 

Perhaps Bernie should stop talking about revolution and start talking about evolution.  Move away from the language of winners and losers toward aiming to improve the lot of those at the bottom without demonizing those at the top.  Clearly China's communist party has recognized that evolution is their key to avoiding revolution.