>History discloses a recurring contradiction. That upheaval, though preached by idealists, is secured by disciplinarians. The lecture hall supplies the language of justice, the barracks and ministries supply the machinery of action. And so it is frequently the heirs of order, stern officers, implacable bureaucrats and country aristocrats who possess the resolution to overturn it, much to the quiet mortification of those who first proclaimed its ideals.
is this true?
It was true in the Russian revolution, where the Red Army was mostly led by Tsarist officers, and much of the Soviet bureaucracy were former Tsarist employees.
>>2714267In this context, he's referring to the various revolutions in the 1800s that ended up only empowering Bonapartist type military leaders and enlightened dictators.