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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thomas More" data-source="post: 1150079" data-attributes="member: 8402">I think it's a little of both. The lower class leaders and popular support really were organic. It's true they couldn't have succeeded without having allies in the elites to supply money and weapons, and then to bring their sectors of the economy in line to support the new regime. However, I think these elites are primarily being opportunistic. I don't think the elites were able to engineer things like the French, Soviet, or Chinese revolutions to the point they were the prime movers. There were significant forces present in each society across multiple social classes where they felt they had something to gain from overthrowing the old order. Each of these revolutions was very chaotic. There's no way some faction of the elite was able to plan and implement these revolutions as is sometimes claimed.</blockquote>