Revolutionary Personality

Book excerpt: The author takes as his starting point the idea that men who rebel, despite many differences in character, resemble each other in some fundamental ways. He poses three questions: Why does a man become a revolutionist? What attributes of personality enable him to become an effective revolutionary leader? What psychological attributes enable a man to effect the transition to power? By focusing on the personalities of three important revolutionists he hypothesizes a model of a distinctive "revolutionary personality." Lenin, Trotsky, and Gandhi are discussed in terms of trust, pride, courage, industry, confidence, and drive-the values that result from the successful management of the problems of the various stages of psycho-sexual growth. Originally published in 1967. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.