Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia: The Integument Bursts Asunder

"The integument bursts asunder" were the words of Karl Marx in the Communist Manifesto.
He used them to describe the revolutionary ferment in mid 19th century Europe. They are
certainly appropriate to describe the revolutionary situations in Tunisia, Yemen, and Egypt
today. Nobody can say where these revolts will go, but they reveal elements of a revolutionary
situation. In general, a revolutionary situation exists when the people are unwilling to continue with things
the way they are and the old order is unable to continue. That is certainly the case. The third
element is whether there is conscious leadership able to lead to a new desired state; that is
often lacking and may or may not be present in these countries. Still, if any fundamental
changes result from this revolutionary ferment, they could effect profound shifts in the
region and the world. Egypt, in particular, has been a keystone of US domination,
and a genuinely national new regime would be unlikely to play that role. The important
thing to realize is that this is a revolution "from below." Even Nasser's overthrow of
the monarchy in 1952 was from above. There was a mass uprising in 1967 to demand
that Nasser stay in power, but the demands today appear to be much more far-reaching.
The world certainly needs deep and profound changes; we can only hope that these are
signs that it is coming.