Revolution: It Ain’t No New Thing is an extraordinarily well-written exposé uncovering promising possibilities of another era of American generational consciousness evolution.
Using analogical arguments to support his bold new assertions and predictions, Dr. Harris examines in great historical detail the evolution of political consciousness and how it has evolved over many millennia. In the prologue, he defines political consciousness as being both individual and group awareness derived from a common set of beliefs and values or value regimes. He further details how ancient civilization’s political societies evolved, dating back to Babylon, Prussia, Egypt, and the Middle East, to the founding of America’s democratic republic and today’s societal efforts toward a more perfect union.
Revolution: It Ain’t No New Thing exposes an unambiguous contrast between revolution and evolution. Whereas an act of revolution always ushers in a complete political regime change, evolution involves a modification of an existing political regime by changing its political and civic polity. In order to drive home this point, Andrew tells his personal story of being politically radicalized as a young Black boy in the suburbs of New York City during the civil rights movement.
In chapter 6, he brilliantly conceives a political conceptual framework entitled “The EING Factors” (exclusivism, inclusivism, nationalism, and globalism) that identifies and contextualizes different political regime eras, beginning with the American Revolutionary War, the Great Depression and World War II, the civil rights movement, to today’s millennial generation crisis.
Dr. Harris concludes by addressing some questions surrounding how America can prepare for a new political consciousness evolution, providing several key empirical observations and a fresh new perspective on instituting realistic changes.
