ABSTRACT
Once social changes have been decided upon, whether intentionally or not, they must be implemented. Revolutionaries, in particular, are confident that once the impediments to their visions are removed, their dreams will become reality. As idealists, revolutionaries are moral activists. Passionate moralism brooks no competition. Change, as we saw, is instigated when tensions, stressors, and crises disrupt institutionalized societies. Attaining social comfort, once it has been disrupted, is difficult. Revolutionaries insist that corrupt populations must modify their ways of life so that these do not interfere with reforms. Nowadays the revolutionary impulse has often given way to social engineering. Even education, where a sizable cadre of experts urged dramatic reforms was afflicted with ineffectual engineering. Often it is assumed that once a change strategy is adopted, its almost immediate implementation is a foregone conclusion. When George W. Bush launched the triumphal march to Baghdad, he assumed that the Iraqis would welcome Americans as liberators.
