Podcast Summary: “Are Revolutions Justified?”

LSE Public Lectures and Events – January 26, 2026
Host: London School of Economics and Political Science
Main Speaker: Professor Lea Ypi, Ralph Miliband Chair in Politics and Philosophy
With guests: David Miliband, Professor Andreas Velasco, Professor Andrew Murray

Overview of Episode Theme

This event centers on the perennial question: Are Revolutions Justified? Professor Lea Ypi—drawing deeply on her personal history, philosophical expertise, and the legacy of Ralph Miliband—delivers an inaugural lecture exploring the moral, political, and historical justifications for revolution. The lecture examines competing views on revolution’s legitimacy, referencing thinkers like Kant, Marx, and Arendt, and situates revolutions within broader debates of justice, freedom, and political transformation. Reflection and responses are offered by David Miliband and Professor Andreas Velasco, followed by an in-depth Q&A with the audience.

Key Sections and Discussion Points

1. Opening: Context and Introductions

• [00:16] Dean Andrew Murray introduces the event, celebrating Professor Ypi’s appointment to the prestigious Ralph Miliband Chair. He highlights her scholarship across political theory, philosophy, and public policy, as well as her personal experience growing up during Albania’s revolution.
• David Miliband offers a deeply personal reflection on his father Ralph’s life, his commitment to teaching and political activism, and the LSE's role in fostering critical debate ([07:08]).

Notable Quote:

“The human meaning of public issues must be revealed by relating them to personal troubles and to the problems of individual life...both biography and history, and their range of intricate relations.” —David Miliband quoting C. Wright Mills ([16:31])

2. Professor Lea Ypi’s Inaugural Lecture

Main Discussion:

a. Personal and Intellectual Genesis

• Ypi’s background in Albania’s transition, rejection and later embrace of Marxism.
• The enduring influence of Ralph Miliband, especially his dual critique of both state socialism’s democratic failures and the limits of liberal capitalism ([17:37]).

b. Defining Revolution

• Ypi’s mother’s definition: “It’s a mess... Don’t do it.” ([25:20])
• Ypi’s own working definition:
  • "A political revolution is the attempt, sometimes accompanied by violence, to overcome domination and to create a juridical order that changes the structure of social relations, including political and economic ones.”
• Emphasizes that violence is not a necessary component; peaceful revolutions exist (e.g., the Velvet Revolution).
• The importance of including failed revolutions in the definition; they are instructive, not only the successful ones ([27:35]).

c. Legalist vs. Moralist Justifications

• Moralists: Ends justify revolutionary means; uphold higher claims (natural rights, justice).
• Legalists: Means matter, law must be followed; revolutions are inherently wrong due to their violence/disruption.
• Provides satirical illustration via Orwell’s “Animal Farm”—revolutions betray original ideals ([35:24]).

Notable Quote:

“Moralists think that since the ends of revolution are right, revolution can never be wrong. Legalists think that since the means of revolution are wrong, revolution can never be right.” —Lea Ypi ([58:46], echoed by Andreas Velasco)

d. Kant’s Peculiar Position

• Kant: Opposed revolution in principle, yet celebrated the French Revolution specifically.
  • Quote from Kant: “A people have a duty not to rebel even against an unjust government... to put up with even what is held to be an unbearable abuse of supreme authority.” ([44:54])
  • Yet, Kant saw the French Revolution as a ‘sign’ of moral progress—its public enthusiasm shows humans capable of rising above self-interest ([47:18]).

e. Species Being and the Philosophy of History

• Advocates judging revolutions not solely by immediate actions, but by their broader, historical, and cultural consequences (their effect on “the species being”).

f. Revolution’s Effects: Imagination, Enthusiasm, and Legacy

• Revolutionary events expand what is deemed politically feasible.
• Cites Machiavelli (“reformers have enemies in those who profit by the old order, only lukewarm defenders among possible beneficiaries of the new”), highlighting obstacles to change ([51:30]).
• Cultural and aesthetic legacy: Revolutions, even failed ones, inspire art and education.
  • “Revolutions are the festival of the oppressed.” —Lenin, but Miliband notes, “festivals don’t last very long” ([54:48]).

g. Are Revolutions Justified? Ypi’s Synthesis

• Suggests the “justification” question may be moot—revolutions happen regardless of philosophers’ permission.
• The true challenge: learning from past revolutions to avoid repeated mistakes.
  • Advocates a third way between “reckless voluntarism” and “paralysis from excessive caution.” ([56:40])

Memorable Moment:

“No one has ever asked, can I please have a revolution? And then waited for an LSE academic to tell them, ‘Yes, you can do it.’” —Lea Ypi ([57:21])

3. Reflections by Professor Andreas Velasco ([58:08])

• Praises Ypi’s blending of scholarship and writing. Echoes Miliband’s prescience:
  • Miliband, 1969:

  “The failure of social democracy implicates not only those responsible for it. Because of that failure, the path is made smoother for would-be popular saviors whose extreme conservatism is concealed beneath demagogic rhetoric...” —quoted by Velasco ([61:37])

• Highlights the importance of “imagination” and “enthusiasm” in revolutionary moments, but also urges caution, referencing Weber’s “strong and slow boring of hard boards.”

Notable Quote:

“Instead of preaching enthusiasm about revolution and its promise of immediate change, we should be preaching enthusiasm for slow and hard work.” —Andreas Velasco ([66:36])

• Gives personal reflection on failed Latin American revolutions: “In all three, the revolutionary pigs... ended up imprisoning and exiling other animals, giving them electric shocks and shooting them in the head. So forgive me, Lea, if I side with your mother on this one.” ([65:35])

4. Audience & Online Q&A Highlights

a. Are revolutions always positive? Can they be regressive?

• Ypi: Freedom and fight against domination define revolution—reactionary upheavals are better labeled as “regressions.”
• “Not all resistance to juridical order promotes freedom...” ([72:50])

b. Addressing violence in revolution:

• State violence is often overlooked, not just that of revolutionaries.
• The state's monopoly on violence, when misused, can itself justify revolutionary action ([73:10]).

c. Why revolutions fail:

• Impatience is the perennial flaw: “People want in their lifetime to see change...the more oppressed, the more angry, the more likely to take radical action, often undermining themselves.” ([75:17])
• Democracy allows for cumulative, generational change.

d. The lesson of the anti-apartheid revolution:

• Fighting political oppression is not enough—without economic transformation, the revolution remains incomplete.
  • “It’s not enough to fight apartheid. You also have to fight capitalism, because capitalism enables, in many ways, apartheid as well.” ([78:04])

e. Revolutions, polarization, and generational legacy:

• Healthy polarization in democracy can be constructive, but democracy is needed for it to function well.
• On generational loss of revolutionary fervor: Subsequent generations might turn from ideals to “boring” practical matters, but each must draw on the memory and lessons of earlier struggles ([81:08]).

f. Who or what is today’s ‘common enemy’?

• Ypi: Greatest dangers are capitalism and nationalism; progressive politics must focus on power, not just culture or identity ([83:00]).

g. How can those who need, but do not want, a revolution come to acknowledge it?

• Universalizability test: Ask if demands are for collective good or merely private interest ([86:33]).

h. Advice for new political science students:

“Read Ralph Miliband.” ([88:02])

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “It’s a mess.” —Professor Ypi’s mother, defining revolution ([25:24])
• “Moralists think the ends of revolutions are right and so revolution can never be wrong. Legalists think the means are wrong and so revolution can never be right.” —Lea Ypi ([58:46])
• “Revolutions are the festival of the oppressed. But festivals don’t last very long.” —Lenin, then Miliband, cited by Ypi ([54:48])
• “Instead of preaching enthusiasm about revolution and immediate change, we should be preaching enthusiasm for the slow and hard work.” —Andreas Velasco ([66:36])
• "No one has ever asked, can I please have a revolution? And then waited for an LSE academic to tell them, ‘Yes, you can do it.’ Revolutions happen.” —Lea Ypi ([57:21])

Key Takeaways

• Revolutions are ambiguous and morally fraught—their justification cannot be reduced to simplistic legalistic or moralist arguments.
• Violence is not unique to revolutions; states exercise it continually. The question is when state violence becomes unjust, opening space for revolutionary legitimacy.
• Failure to reform (either socialism or capitalism) has driven revolutionary change. Both have their pathologies, as Ypi and Miliband highlight.
• Kant’s stance illustrates the philosophical tension: Principled skepticism toward revolution, yet acknowledgment of its role in historical progress.
• Legacy matters: Revolutions inspire and educate future generations—even failed ones have lasting, species-level impact.
• The “justification” of revolutions may be moot: They are not subject to moral or philosophical permission so much as to historical, cultural, and political currents.
• Learning from past mistakes is imperative: The challenge is to find a third way between dangerous utopianism and paralyzing caution.

Structure

• 00:00–16:30: Opening remarks, history, and connection to Ralph Miliband (Andrew Murray, David Miliband)
• 17:37–57:21: Professor Ypi’s lecture; theoretical and historical analysis of revolution
• 58:08–69:39: Reflection and critique by Andreas Velasco
• 71:11–87:32: Q&A session with audience and online listeners
• 88:02: Final advice for students

For further exploration, read works by Ralph Miliband, especially those engaging the intersection of political theory, activism, and the analysis of revolution’s challenges and possibilities.