Revolution and Counter-Revolution

Few indeed are those with the courage to challenge prevailing opinions and beliefs. Fewer still are such challenges which pass the test of time. Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira's masterful work, Revolution and Counter-Revolution is one such work. In Revolution and Counter-Revolution, Prof. de Oliveira first outlines the historical roots of the modern moral crisis, which he names the "Revolution." Then, by explaining with pristine clarity how the unrestrained passions of pride and sensuality, leading to the craving for total equality and absolute liberty, have driven us to our present situation, he answers the perpetual question, "How did things get so bad?"Of particular interest is his explanation of the three depths of the Revolution, as existing in the tendencies, ideas and finally facts. There he shows how seemingly meaningless or "tendential" changes in the lives of men can lead to profound changes in his ideas and eventually push society as a whole further along the paths towards the Revolution's final goal, which is the utter annihilation of all the remnants of Christian Civilization.In the second part of the book, titled The Counter-Revolution, he demonstrates how we can stand up to the Revolution and, with the help of Mary most holy and under the guidance of Holy Mother Church, effect substantial changes to arrest its progress.Definitely not a book for the narrow-minded, but a must read for those open-minded souls, fed up with the pervading immorality of our days and willing to stand up and make a difference.

Until I read this book, the symptoms of today's moral decadence seemed disconnnected. The author traces the roots of the current crisis of Christian and Western Civilization back to Humanism. He leads the reader through history, proving how, with the Renassiance, society gradually replaced God with man. De Oliveira describes the entire process of the shattering of Christian Civilzation -- Protestantism, French Revolution, Communism, Hippie Revolution -- and the pieces of the destruction puzzle fit into place. The Counter-Revolution, according to Plinio, opposes the driving force of the Revolution -- the disordered passions of pride and sensualty. I was amazed to see how important the practice of the virtues are, particularly purity and humility, to the establishment and preservation of a truly Christian order. No wonder high ranking members of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church have written letters praising this book.

I found Revolution and Counter-Revolution by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira to be the most helpful, insightful, and penetrating historical and philosophical analysis of the contemporary crises shaking Western civilization available on the market.In clear language, the author cuts through the fog of postmodern confusion offering the reader great insight into the driving forces behind the eternal struggle between good and evil, truth and falsehood, beauty and ugliness, order and disorder. Unlike other works, this book does not get bogged down in irrelevant detail. It reaches the essence of things. After I read this work, I understood why the Protestant, French and Communist revolutions shared common goals: pride and radical egalitarianism. This book will not disappoint you.

This book was first written in 1959 but its content has not become irrelevant precisely because it discusses historic trends that span centuries. Oliveira explains the nature of the Revolutionary Impulse and how it has been manifest in Three Revolutions - Renaissance, French Revolution, Communism.However, these historic movements are incidental to the underlying philosophy that seeks to abolish order, hierarchy, and authority in the name of seeking absolute equality and unrestrained freedom. Especially helpful is Oliveira's insight into the motives and methods of the Revolutionaries and their potential future tactics and activities.But that is only half the book. The second half discusses how the Counter-Revolution is to confront, halt, and turn back this Revolutionary Impulse. Oliveira provides extremely helpful advice and caveats for those wishing to join in the fight to preserve order, hierarchy, and authority against the schemes of utopian dreamers.The book helps motivate the reader by giving him a true sense of the pervasive universal struggle that at times seems imperceptible but occasionally erupts in upheavals and unrest (e.g. the above noted three revolutions).But most of all, the book is a how-to guide for the Counter-Revolutionary. It helps one "know thy enemy" and then lays out a plan for how to challenge and overcome that enemy. A must read for those that strive to uphold order and to defend all that is good and decent.

Revolution and Counter-Revolution is a profound and brilliantly argued study of the revolutionary process that began with the decadence of Medieval Christendom in the fourteenth century. This process, driven by the disorderly human tendencies, especially pride and sensuality, leads to the gradual establishment of a state of things (I purposely did not say of things) completely opposed to Christian civilization -- that is, secular, wholly egalitarian, libertarian, and anarchic society. The author considers this process Revolution. Not simply "negative," this study also describes and analyzes the aims of the Counter-Revolution and the effective methods for obstructing and finally destroying the revolutionary process. It establishes the grounds for certainty -- not just hope -- in the victory of the Catholic Church, which is the very soul of the Counter-Revolution.