"Taking the list as an example, we find a range of opinions on offer -- from fairly mainstream Democratic party ideas to anarcho-green. Arguments erupt over points of theory and belief but if you observe the Americans (myself included of course) carefully you'll note a base of commonality: everyone hopes to modify, to evolve, the present system peacefully into a more humane state."
There's nothing wrong with a peaceful revolution. If either violence or needless death solved much, we'd be sitting pretty right now. In fact, 1917 was relatively peaceful, though the civil war that followed was less so. Remember, if there were a peaceful revolution in the U.S. , there would not be an external "U.S" to foment civil war etc.
How is a peaceful revolution possible? So far as I can see through general strikes and worker power. This posits an extensive communications/economic network that would allow the working class to organize, communicate, and manage such a transition. If there were a massive economic implosion, the circumstances for such a working class mobilization would be in place because people would need such informal networks just to survive. The genius of the New Deal was that it provided this infrastructure until Capital could reform/regroup. Now they don't think they need it any more, so they're dismantling it just at the point where economic disaster is once again pending. When disaster strikes, the geniuses of the (gag!) meritocracy will be exposed for the frauds they are and the working class will probably feel a certain uptick in self-respect.
Can a peaceful revolution happen while the wheels keep grinding and everyone is glazed over with TV and Jesus? No, of course not.
Joanna