Revolution or Retribution?

I know that often when I speak about revolution what I am really talking about is retribution, as are many so-called "revolutionary minded persons" today. But if you are planning revenge on the old system for any number of grievances, then this boss is same as the old boss. First, we take into consideration the words of the Dali Lama who advises against violence since it so easily gets out of control. Second, we recall that draconian measures and punitive "mean spirited" legal trappings are the reserve of the old system, the system that true revolution seeks to replace.

It is tempting to design a state within a state to punish the old (state) apparatus, but when the offenders of the old regime are finished, who will this 'apparatus of vengeance' seek next? Will it go away quietly or will it persist parallel to any new social order, and in effect, rain down an arbitrary and cruel order every bit as capricious as the old order it purports to replace? We must endeavor to replace the old order without falling into the trap of seeking revenge.

If we are to truly create a revolutionary order that is worthy-to-replace the old, then this order must be more tolerant, less violent, and overall more willing to forgo violence and punishment as a means to social control. Otherwise the revolution will spoil quickly, and it will become as hated and despised as the old order, engendering neither love nor willingness to defend that order by the common citizen. And there will be dark days for any new revolutionary order, and those are the times when the love of the people is more important than their fear and certainly more useful than their resentment.