The "bourgeois revolutions" which laid the basis for capitalism were varied and contested historical events. Lenin often drew lessons from the French Revolution. So we will examine the social and political processes involved in those upheavals and consider how much, if at all, they provide a guide to what will be involved in overthrowing capitalism.

A few notes on what to read:

The article “Class and Revolution in Seventeenth Century England” by Brian Manning is not available online but some attendees might have access to it. He also has published other useful works on the topic.

Neil Davidson's book How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions? is wide ranging, read the book itself or any sections. A review of it by Alex Callinicos, “The dynamics of revolution”, is available here. Another review, “Comment on Bourgeois Revolutions”, by Donny Gluckstein, is available here. And Davidson's reply “Revolutions between theory and history: a response to Alex Callinicos and Donny Gluckstein” is available here.