James Chowning Davies (May 6, 1918 – March 30, 2012) was an American sociologist and professor emeritus of political science at the University of Oregon.
Davies asserts that revolutions are a subjective response to a sudden reversal in fortunes after a long period of economic growth.
The last part of his war service was in the United States occupation of Japan, where he worked in the office responsible for rebuilding the education system.
People then subjectively fear that ground gained with great effort will be quite lost; their mood becomes revolutionary.
Various statistics—as on rural uprisings, industrial strikes, unemployment, and cost of living—may serve as crude indexes of popular mood.