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When analyzing the history of social movements and protest, the most abundant studies are those of the Contemporary Age. Sources are more abundant, conflicts are more abundant, and researchers also share the view of the world of research. That is, as we pass through the sieve of progress and progress we understand their demands and programs, they make us rational, because we are the children of the Enlightenment.
But in the conflicts of the pre-industrial era it is difficult to find and share those views, because it is not clear whether the rebel protest and resistance movements of that time had the capacity to develop conscious programs. Were they able to imagine alternative regimes in the future, that is, to project utopias? That is not clear.
From the more classical point of view, most modern and medieval revolts had a retrograde or conservative character. In other words, in general, they had no clear will to abolish feudalism or to end the monarchy. According to its global conception, feudalism was a just social order in which each class played a role. Insurrections occurred when noble lords or the patricians of cities were abusing and violating that social order. The purpose of these riots was to return to the previous situation, which they considered it fair to restore that social order. The fault was not of the monarchy or the feudal system, but of the noble lord or magnate more concrete. Moreover, they often called on the King to seek help to restore the previous situation. For example, in both the French Grand Jacquerie (1358) and the English Wat Tyle uprising (1381) the Vulgo did not consider the King responsible for the situation, but his advisers and nobles; and in the 17th century anti-fascist rebellions, “King Biba! “Long live the King!” They shouted choruses like “Down the bad government!”, for example, in croquants uprisings in Naples (1647) or in southeastern France. The king or the system did not question him, they only criticized the taxes (the barbeque) or the collectors who seemed to them to be abusive.
However, some authors consider that there are exceptions, since it is believed that in some pre-industrial uprisings or revolts there may be evidence of transformative programs or anti-systemic claims. As an example of this, the movements of Diggers and Levellers who participated in both the War of the Communities of Castile (1520-1522) and the English Revolution (1642-1651), who wanted to bring to earth the Kingdom of God, paradise.
The debate is on the table. Eric Hobsbawm, for example, suggested that the ‘unconscious’ character of some resistance movements was extended to the Contemporary Age, especially in backward agricultural societies. But Ramachandra Guha criticized the same when she looked at the peasant uprisings in India. It should also be taken into account that in the pre-industrial era the majority of the minor population had not been literate and in the absence of writing left little mark on the sources. As a result, as they are voiceless, their defenses have only come indirectly.
All this can serve to reflect on current social movements: Are we still stuck in the attempt to recover that idealized state of well-being or are we able to imagine a society without capitalism?
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