Do revolutions lead to good outcomes?

Since 2010 John has said revolutions have a poor track record, pointing to France going from one supreme ruler to another, and in 2011 he questioned whether the American Revolution was good.

Axis: yes, usually worth it ... usually end badly

Positions by date: 12 records in 12 videos. The position was refined (2011, 2015), never reversed, in these records.

John

date	how	position	video
2010-11-05	first on record	John says the French Revolution would in the end do an exceptionally poor job of protecting the rights its Declaration proclaimed.	God and Grain: The French Revolution, Part I 00:04:13
2010-11-10	restate	John says that in economic contractions what looked like radical hope and change a year earlier becomes 'the man': the National Assembly fires on a revolutionary crowd.	Headless Monarchy: The French Revolution, Part II 00:02:32
2010-11-11	restate	John sums up that after more than a hundred thousand deaths, a decade of suffering and a continent-wide war, France went from one supreme ruler to another.	REIGN OF TERROR: The French Revolution, Part III 00:03:34
2011-01-31	restate	John loves the romance of revolution but notes that it does not have a particularly good track record, citing the French Revolution.	Revolution in Egypt: A 4-Minute Introduction 00:03:16
2011-06-01	refine	John questions whether the American Revolution was good, arguing it was bad for slaves, delayed abolition, may have led to the Civil War and bankrupted France.	The Evil Baby Orphanage Returns...for George Washington? 00:00:49
2018-02-06	restate	John says it is overly simplistic to credit the march with a freer, more equitable, less hungry France: the French Revolution, like so many revolutions, failed many of its ambitions.	Sawdust Bread 00:02:53
2022-08-02	restate	John says that in about 20 years France went from a king named Louis to a democratic revolution to an emperor to another Louis: revolutions often go all the way around.	Liberty Leading the People: How Revolutions Turn 00:00:58

Hank

date	how	position	video
2013-07-05	first on record	Hank: revolutions tend to be incremental steps forward for the people; they can be large ideological steps but cultural change happens slowly; one can only hope and wait and see.	Egypt....Explained! 00:07:03
2015-10-23	refine	Hank says revolutions promise rapid change for good, but their usual immediate outcome is a power vacuum and armed groups fighting for control, as in Libya.	Benghazi: Explained 00:01:16
2016-03-18	restate	Hank calls Brazil's culture of peaceful evolution rather than violent revolution, which few want to give up, great news.	Brazil's Government is Falling Apart...and it's Good News? 00:09:52
2017-02-24	restate	Second reason: you are never sure your goal will help; revolutions against oppression have sometimes made things worse and sometimes turned out well, so destroying everything on the way risks bad means for a bad outcome.	Doing Bad Things To Make Good Things Happen 00:01:48
2018-01-05	restate	Hank says revolting against a government means taking it down, which usually goes badly: those in power won't give it up, people kill each other, and often the worst people win.	Making a Better YouTube 00:00:29

Background

date	how	position	video
2015-11-03	background	John says the French Revolution failed spectacularly, as revolutions often do, replacing one despot with another. (playful)	Monkey Hangers 00:00:45