The term reactionary is used in the field of politics to refer to that individual or group that opposes a revolutionary process or political transformation. Therefore, reactionaries are those who manifest themselves against the changes that a part of society wants to establish in society as a whole.
The historical origin of the term
The French Revolution that began in 1789 brought about a change of regime in France. In a very synthetic way we could say that it represented the end of the absolute monarchy and the society divided into classes and the beginning of a new political and social regime based on the equality of all individuals. During the revolutionary period there were collectives and individuals who opposed the revolution and were called reactionaries by the revolutionaries (the reactionaries were mainly supporters of the monarchy). Thus, the French reactionaries were considered counterrevolutionaries. This sense of the term was later consolidated and from the French Revolution onwards the idea of reactionary has been applied to ideas, people or social sectors that are not supporters of social and political changes.
The concept of reactionary as a throwing weapon and as a euphemism
The French Revolution meant the first political movement for the radical transformation of a society and since then there have been other revolutionary processes (in Russia, China, Cambodia, Vietnam or Cuba). In most of these cases the term reactionary has continued to be used.
One could speak of three different uses. In the first place, when a revolutionary group has wanted to disqualify another, it has classified it as reactionary as a throwing weapon, with which it has come to say that they are not authentic revolutionaries, because what they really want is not to join the revolution ( this is what the Russian Bolsheviks said about the Mensheviks to seize power).
Second, the accusation of reactionary has been used as a political strategy to discredit the political opponent. In this sense, a group of leaders pretend to lead a revolutionary project and by saying that others are reactionaries they are politically eliminating them (during the Spanish civil war, communists under the tutelage of the Soviet Union used this argument to refer to other communist or left-wing movements) . Third, the term reactionary is applied to the ideas of those who do not want to give up their privileges.
In whatever sense it is used, reactionary has a derogatory and pejorative sense. However, the use of the term is quite controversial and controversial. In this sense, affirming that some are revolutionary and others are reactionary is a simplification and, to a large extent, a propaganda argument to discredit an individual, a group or some ideas.
Photos: iStock - Andrew Parker / idildemir
