Moments of Belief Alice Meehana, August 2016 - IMD Business School
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Moments of Belief Alice Meehana, August 2016
Moments of Belief
As Britain started living a healthier and This concept of a “Moment of Belief” seems
more active lifestyle, Tim Mason, a young to be present in many other businesses, for
manager, proposed a “Healthy Eating” example, Haier’s CEO public smashing of
initiative which involved putting ingredient sub-standard products, Jack Welch’s denial
labelling on food (how much fat, salt, of access to secure facilities by a security
sugar etc.). Senior managers although officer, Target’s CEO cancelling the classic
understanding well the point, were fearful stage-managed store visit preferring instead
of the immediate and longer-term financial to go visit unannounced, incognito, leveraging
consequences. One horrified and angry local contacts rather than his own staff
senior executive exclaimed “We’ll never and Swiss Re Life & Health’s business unit
sell another sausage, pork pie or high- head responsible for “AdminRe” randomly
fat ice cream.” 1 It wasn’t until Managing reviewing the detailed purchase ledger to
Director Iain MacLaurin intervened saying help his organisation adopt an extreme cost
that irrespective of the immediate, short control mind-set (rather the opposite to
term impact, Tesco would adopt Mason’s colleagues in other business units).
proposal because it was the right thing
to do and entirely in line with customers’ Dawson & Meehan’s idea, as these examples
interests. Dawson & Meehan point to this show, is significant because they shape
incident in which the Managing Director an organisation’s belief system. Social,
imposed his view against the status quo Political and Religious events of historic
and prevailing assumptions as Tesco’s significance may be a helpful lens through
first clear statement that it would be which to understand the dynamics of
customer-led. They refer to it as Tesco’s “Moments of Belief” as these tend to be
(first) “Moments of Belief”. It showed to all well documented and can be seen to have
what being customer-led meant in practice shaped values and belief systems on a
and attribute much of Tesco’s subsequent societal level. The literature on storytelling
success to this reorientation. Moments suggests that examples we see in business
of Belief therefore are pivotal. Such are often very focused on one incident, with
moments of belief in being customer led, one strong minded person, often in a weak
repeated in different contexts, were used or disadvantaged organisational position
to explain Tesco’s strategy, its decisions demonstrating through their own actions
and its complete change. In summary, the (or a stand taken) that something can be
consistent pattern of moves, represented done or seen in a very new way. As such they
well by Mason’s early stand on “Healthy challenge the prevailing norms and motivate
Eating”, changed the company. Its power positive change, even a breakthrough.
came from it being such a strong and
unusual move against the status quo, and The problem, as we see in historical
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
the fact that “Healthy Eating” wasn’t a one- examples, with popular interpretations
off; other compatible moments of belief of such “Moments” this is that these
enabled the value-system to take root critical incidents can be interpreted to be
throughout the organisation 2 . entirely attributable to one person, to an
impulsive action, or a wholly unique set of
2 a Alice Meehan is a research intern at IMD.
circumstances and thus can give the sense I’ve addressed my concern in my limited
that they are heroic and admirable, but study of a small selection of other highly
also “one-offs”, instances that cannot be consequential and dramatic single
replicated. Paradoxically, the clearer and historical acts. In summary, it seems
more emphatic the incident is, the more Dawson & Meehan’s concept of a “Moment
likely this superficial interpretation will of Belief” is perhaps better interpreted
follow. Can it really be that a “Moment” may as a timely and thoughtful intervention in
only be triggered by a strong individual with a fertile context, which gains traction for
a unique vision who changes the path of an a myriad of contextual reasons. So, for
organisation through a single action? If so, example, it is reasonable to assert that
it may have very little value to observers MacLaurin had considered the merits and
in search of good practice. Another factor a challenges of being customer-led, really
to take into account is that all of these convinced himself that this was the route to
proclaimed “unique” stories cannot all be success on a large scale, and fuelled by this
so; Martin, Feldman, Hatch and Sitkin 3 belief simply transposed it into the context
argue that is this uniqueness factor is he was present with. It’s hard to imagine
paradoxical, and that these stories have that he had a “Pauline conversion” in that
many commonalities. meeting.
3
In this paper therefore, I seek to develop the
understanding of the circumstances and
structure that classically give “Moments
of Belief” their extraordinary power, and I
postulate some generic antecedents and Antecedents
consequences of these “Moments of Belief”,
Status Quo
confirming the universality of the concept
Legitimacy of alternative
once one broadens Dawson & Meehan’s Conditioning
definition to a specific moment leading to
important change over a large group of
people. I examine the specific examples of
well-known major moments in history that
seem suitable for examination of the effect
of the moment itself but taking into account
the circumstances in which they arose. The
examples I examined were: the moment
Moment Of Belief
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in A positive challenge to the status quo, leading to
a segregated bus which sparked a chain important change in institutions and values
of events culminating in civil rights being
more firmly established in law; the moment
Henri Dunant witnessed the horrors of war
and provoked an immediate organisation of
medical relief leading to the creation of the
Red Cross; the moment Henry VIII refused
to recognise papal authority and declared Consequences
himself Supreme Head of the Church of Immediate
England, now a significant and long standing Institutional
recognised religion; and, the moment the Formalisation
Bolsheviks overthrew Russia’s Provisional Legacy
Post-Tsarist government and established
what would be the USSR and one of the most
significant world powers of an era. These
examples seemed particularly relevant as
they are not only famous and varied, but also
brought about significant change through
what can be interpreted as single acts,
“Moments of Belief”. Fig. 1. Theoretical concept of elements of a
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
“Moment of Belief”
4The concept of a “Moment of Belief” demands of a “Moment of Belief”, such as the general
a set of common characteristics to be found knowledge surrounding a social movement,
in all examples of it; I identified these in the worsening of the status quo (i.e. the
both the antecedents and the consequences shocking loss of lives in the Battle of
of a “Moment”, as shown in Fig. 1. The Solferino), the public’s mood, other world
common antecedents I identified were the events, and changing values brought about by
status quo, the legitimacy of alternative, large-scale changes, such as industrialisation
and conditioning, whilst the common in the Bolshevik case.
consequences were immediate, institutional,
The conditioning is what made the protagonist
formalisation, and the legacy.
act in the “Moment”, due to factors such as their
The status quo has to be unsatisfactory for a upbringing, their character, their beliefs about
large group of people who would ideally like the status quo and what they would see as a
to see changes for example, authoritarianism better future, their involvement in similar issues
like the Tsarist regime, outdated laws or prior to the “Moment”, and the presence of a
politics in the case of Rosa Parks, or simply “breaking point” where they made the dramatic
unsuitable treatment of people, as in the decision they did. For example, Rosa refusing
wounded soldiers in the Red Cross example. to leave her seat on the bus, Dunant convincing
It is important to the “Moment of Belief”, villagers to help wounded soldiers, Henry VIII
because the “Moment” challenges the deciding that his need for a male heir was more
status quo to change in a positive way. This important than membership to the Roman
means there has to be some form of duality Catholic Church, or the Bolsheviks to perform
and tension between the status quo and an unnecessary coup.
the “Moment”, which can also be found in
My limited study suggests all of these
business organisational stories, for there to
antecedents are required for the “Moment”
be any change provoked at all.
to crystalize. Further, the “Moments”
The legitimacy of alternative is why the status themselves are easily identifiable and
quo could be changed at that particular unambiguous, allowing for one main
moment in time and the situational aspect interpretation. More importantly though
5a “Moment” really gains its currency and The formalisation of the “Moment” is
its noteworthiness because it has highly portrayed in the change of official rules, for
significant consequences. instance new laws being put into place such
as the Browder v. Gayle in Rosa Parks’ case,
The immediate consequence is what
or significant political change, such as the
happens as a direct result of the “Moment”
Geneva Convention in Henri Dunant’s story.
immediately, and that consequence was
most probably expected by the protagonist, The greatest consequence however is the
because of the magnitude of the significance legacy: what is remembered, what story
of the singular act. These would generally is told today, however inaccurate it may
be the reaction from the upholders of the be. Connecting one’s audience with an
status quo, who refuse to see the legitimacy emotional and spiritual story is important
of alternative, such as the Civil War between to pass on the message fitting one’s
the Bolsheviks and the opposition to agenda; narratives are embellished and
communism, or the Pope excommunicating glamorised, such as Rosa Parks, who was
Henry VIII from the Roman Catholic Church. not the tired stay-at-home mother she is
represented to be, but was very deliberate,
The institutional consequence on the
thoughtful, well-grounded activist in the
other hand would be the result that was
civil rights movement for decades. Similarly,
unexpected to the protagonist, though it
the Bolsheviks, while romanced by many
may have been wished; the “Moment” is not
admirers as saviours from the uncertainty
a simple one-off action, but its message
the Provisional Government provided after
is continued on afterwards through a new
the downfall of the Tsarist regime, were in
system or institution. All of the “Moments”
fact violent, disruptive radicals.
studied in the appendix have an important
institutional consequence; the creation of This embellishment of great change in
the Communist Party in Russia, the birth humanity is a general phenomenon in
of the Red Cross, the emergence of Martin history. The narrative of “great men” which
Luther King and the SCLC, and the Church of was popular with 19th century historians
England being separated from Rome. is still the most generally accepted history
and the one taught at a basic level in school,
where curricula are government controlled.
This top-down method is no longer popular
with historians, who tend to write cultural
histories, meaning the history of the people
who lived through the events, and not just
The ‘Moment’ is not a
the biography of the important people
simple one-off action, who directed major events. Thus, perhaps
but its message “Moments of Belief” as proposed is more
is continued on in line with the “great men” approach and
afterwards through would benefit from a fuller appreciation of
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
their antecedents and consequences.
a new system
or institution. From my limited study of commonalities
between “Moments of Belief”, one can
realise that although these “Moments”
6seem to be a spontaneous action taken by following, and aspects of the “Moment” or
a passionate person at first glance, they their character tend to be exaggerated, such
all have many commonalities that show as Soviet history exaggerating the people’s
the unique circumstances surrounding support for the Bolsheviks, or Rosa Parks
the “Moment” that are necessary to make being portrayed as a tired mother figure,
it possible, whilst taking into account the when in reality she had been an activist for
background of the protagonist to understand over two decades prior to her refusal to give
what made them react in such a significant up her seat on the bus in Montgomery.
way. My study also demonstrates that
My main conclusion is that we should be
“Moments” tend to have a leader figure to
sceptical about the simplistic attribution
rally behind; they too have commonalities:
of great change to “Moments of Belief”.
strong character, ideologically driven, and
Business writers might look carefully at
actively trying to change the status quo
the antecedents and indeed the sequence
they are unsatisfied with in a positive way. It
of enabling consequences. If indeed the
seems that these “Moments” do not usually
writers are comprehensive in their account,
happen with the intention of creating a new
readers will have a fuller appreciation of
system from that one action, although this is
what is required to sustain lasting change at
debatable with Henry VIII’s case, but they do
the level of belief systems.
happen nonetheless. These leaders need
to be portrayed in a certain way to ensure a
References
1. Tim Mason, The Winner’s Tornado, IMD Discovery Event, April 2015.
2. Charlie Dawson and Seán Meehan, The Customer Copernicus, How to be Customer-Led, forthcoming,
Routledge May 2021.
3. Martin, Joanne, Martha Feldman, Mary Hatch and Sim Sitkin, The Uniqueness Paradox in Organisational
Stories, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol 28, page 438, 01/09/1983.
7APPENDIX
I Rosa Parks
II Henri Dunant
III Bolshevik Revolution
IV Henry VIII
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
8Rosa Parks
On December 1 1955, Rosa Parks set into distancing the movement from Cold War
motion a series of events which would grassroots militancy. 2 But remembering
determine the fate of the civil rights Parks romantically as “some accidental
movement and the future of America: midwife without a larger politics” is
commuting by bus and ignoring the order erroneous. 3 Parks herself stated that
of the bus driver, she refused to give up her ‘“people always say that I didn’t give up my
seat on the bus in the designated coloured seat because I was tired but that isn’t true.
section for a white person. Her protest was I was not tired physically, or no more tired
quiet and nonviolent, and she did not resist than I usually was at the end of a working
arrest when the police intervened. Her act day… No, the only tired I was, was tired of
sparked a 381 day Montgomery bus boycott giving in.”’4
ending only when desegregation on public
buses became enshrined in law (Browder Parks was not an accidental heroine,
v. Gayle 1956) and provided a platform a random citizen in a random moment,
for the emergence of the highly influential rather we should note that she had been
human rights leader, Martin Luther King, politically active for over two decades
then president of the newly-formed before that notable day in December 1955;
SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership she was the secretary of the local chapter
Conference), an African-American civil of the NAACP (National Association for the
rights organization. Advancement of Coloured People), married
an activist and was brought up to show
She is remembered as an ‘“accidental strength against the very real threats of
matriarch of the civil rights movement”’ by the KKK in the complicated racial climate
the New York Times. A ‘“quiet”, “humble” of 20th century Alabama. Her family taught
and “soft-spoken”’ woman became an icon. her to balance compliance and militancy,
Her image was, however, manipulated which she abided by her entire life. It must
both by the media and even the movement be noted that being part of the civil rights
she stood for.1 Former Republican Senator movement in the 1940s was extremely
Bill Frist, declared ‘“her refusal to give up brave, as most members did not foresee any
her seat was not an intentional attempt to change happening in their own lifetimes,
change a nation, but a singular act aimed which led to widespread apathy in her
at restoring the dignity of the individual.”’ community concerning the movement. This
Such a figure seems ideal for a boycott vague hostility towards the NAACP in the
to coalesce around: being seen as a mid-1950s grew during the Brown v. Board
respectable religious mother figure by the of Education case in May 1954 which sought
human rights movement and observers to desegregate schools, although this was
was critical to the boycott’s success and in not put into action for some time.
9Parks’ refusal to give up her seat was
not the first resistance from members
of the civil rights movement, especially
not on the desegregated buses in
Montgomery, where racial abuse was Antecedents
an everyday matter. Part of the anger Status Quo: Racial Segregation legal.
among the black American community
Legitimacy of alternative: Civil Rights for coloured
was due to the inconsistency in treatment people has a voice, was organised and active. Parks
of black Americans on the military front active and employed in civil rights movement.
abroad and at home. 5 Parks herself
Conditioning: Claudette Colvin case; Highlander
visited an American military camp, which Folk School.
was desegregated, and saw the equal
treatments black and white Americans
received there. This made her angrier
about the city’s buses and the treatment of
all coloured people. An important incident
influencing Parks’ mind-set around the
time of the bus incident was Claudette
Colvin’s arrest. Claudette Colvin was a
Moment Of Belief
15-year-old black girl who would not
42 year old Rosa Parks, taking a bus home from work,
give up her seat to a white man on the
refuses to give up her seat to a white passenger.
bus before Parks did, and was an active
After a stand-off she was arrested and charged with
member of the NAACP Youth Council,
violation of a local segregation ordinance.
which Rosa Parks was an advisor to. Parks
did some fundraising for Colvin’s case, but
community leaders were worried about
publicising Colvin’s pioneering actions
due to her social standing and character
which they saw as “feisty”, “emotional”
and “mouthy”. Further, she was unlikely
to attract sympathy because, unrelatedly,
she was pregnant by a married man. They
therefore did not give their full support to Consequences
her case. Immediate: Montgomery bus boycott
Institutional: MLK & SCLC
This was on Parks’ mind as she went to Formalisation: Browder v. Gayle, 1956 (segregation
a 2-week long desegregation workshop outlawed)
Legacy: became “mother” figure for the Civil Rights
at the Highlander Folk School, an
Movement, desegregation in federal law, as well as
interracial organizer training school, on
constitutional amendments
the recommendation of her chapter’s
president, Edgar Nixon. The workshop
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
underlined the importance of action
in bringing about societal and attitude
changes. 6 During this workshop Parks
discussed the futility of organising a
mass movement in Montgomery, which
members agreed with, and nonviolent Fig. 2. Three-box model of the Rosa Parks
action was discussed and encouraged as “Moment of Belief”
a tool.7
10Although Parks’ protest was not planned, Rosa Parks’ iconic protest, as is shown
it was not wholly random either. Taking in in figure 2, is an example of a “Moment of
all of the above factors show what mind- Belief”, because she made a strong positive
set she was in as she boarded the bus on statement against the status quo, with an
December 1, 1955. One could argue that ideological yet practical action – not moving
the deciding factor in her action that day from her seat in the designated segregated
was a matter of chance that she boarded bus area. Her values were known, and
James F. Blake’s bus. Parks and Blake had therefore after her boycott her actions
previously encountered in 1943, when Blake became shared because, as in a business
ordered Parks to board the bus from the environment, practical values are easier
back as opposed to the front. Parks refused to respond to for the employee or member
to board said bus and decided to never ride of the Montgomery black community, and
with Blake again. But in December 1955 she having these shared values makes their
did just that, having not noticed who the own personal decisions easier to make.
driver was. One of the four black people on Her ‘hero’ status spread the values of the
the bus, Parks would not give up her seat NAACP and the civil rights movement, and
for the one white man, and Blake phoned her “Moment of Belief”, her ‘organizational
the police to have her arrested, after having story’ in business terms, was a simple,
spoken to his boss, who simply told him effective story with a moral, a message
to make her leave the bus.8 The personal to her community and her nation, which
grudge between the two parties was the brought about serious change.
catalyst of the importance the event took,
involving the police whilst Parks did not
resist arrest made her image as a victim
more malleable; as one can imagine, being
arrested as a black woman was physically
dangerous in 1950s America.
End notes
1. Theoharis, Jeanne. ‘“A Life History of Being Rebellious”: The Radicalism of Rosa Parks’ in Gore,
Theoharis, Woodard (eds) Want to Start a Revolution? (New York University Press, 2009), p. 115.
2. Theoharis, Jeanne. ‘“A Life History of Being Rebellious”: The Radicalism of Rosa Parks’ in Gore,
Theoharis, Woodard (eds) Want to Start a Revolution? (New York University Press, 2009), p. 117.
3. Theoharis, Jeanne. The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks (Boston: Beacon Press, 2013), pp. x-xi.
4. Theoharis, Jeanne. The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks (Boston: Beacon Press, 2013), p. 62.
5. Theoharis, Jeanne. The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks (Boston: Beacon Press, 2013), p. 47.
6. Theoharis, Jeanne. The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks (Boston: Beacon Press, 2013), pp.35-40.
7. Theoharis, Jeanne. The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks (Boston: Beacon Press, 2013), p. 41.
8. Theoharis, Jeanne. ‘“A Life History of Being Rebellious”: The Radicalism of Rosa Parks’ in Gore,
Theoharis, Woodard (eds) Want to Start a Revolution? (New York University Press, 2009), p. 123.
11Henri Dunant
Jean-Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman, was sometimes used”. Towards the end he
travelled to Solferino in June 1859, where asks, “But why have I recounted all these
a battle in the Austro-Sardinian war was scenes of pain and distress and perhaps
taking place. Dunant saw the horrors of aroused painful emotions in my readers”,
this battle and was greatly shocked. His and proceeds “perhaps I may answer this
response was to organise aid with the natural question by another question. Can
locals for the wounded soldiers, without we not find a way, in times of peace and
discrimination. This act was the start of tranquillity, to found aid societies (“ sociétés
the largest humanitarian enterprise in the de secours “) with the object of having
world, the International Committee of the the wounded cared for in time of war, by
Red Cross. zealous and devoted volunteers, properly
qualified for such a task”, and further “since
His “Moment of Belief” came in the form new and terrible methods of destruction are
of his extreme distress in reaction to invented daily, with a perseverance worthy
the aftermath of battle. He went to the of a better object, and since the inventors
battlefield of Solferino as soon as the of these instruments of destruction are
fighting was over and set about organizing applauded and encouraged in most of the
what relief he could. He was struck by great European States, which are engaged
the inadequacy of medical services, the in an armament race; and since finally the
torrid heat, the flies, the lack of any clean state of mind in Europe combines with many
water and the scarcity of even foul water.1 other symptoms to indicate the prospect of
His response was fashioned by what he future wars, the avoidance of which, sooner
witnessed immediately thereafter. or later, seems hardly possible; in view of all
this, why could not advantage be taken of a
A local church, Chiesa Maggiore, became a time of relative calm and quiet to investigate
makeshift hospital into which 500 soldiers and try to solve a question of such immense
were crammed. The improvised nurses and world-wide importance, both from the
were, he recounts, “de belles et gracieuses humane and the Christian standpoint?”
jeunes filles “, whose sweetness, with
their eyes full of tears and of compassion, Whilst his inspiration is clear, we need
revived the courage and the morale of the to examine what conditioned him, why
sick. To the first volunteers other recruits did he and not others react and respond
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
were added, including English tourists. I as he did? Dunant was born in a wealthy
will spare you the more harrowing passages bourgeois family in Geneva, a God-fearing
of his recital, merely saying that after community, and was educated in a Calvinist
describing the amputation of a gangrenous school and was “infected with prophetic
leg, he adds “In the next hospital chloroform mysticism” from the Book of Daniel the
12Prophet, which he later saw in Napoleon
III, restorer of the Roman Empire in
Dunant’s opinion. Geneva was a haven
for the pious yet prosperous; both these
factors were very important, and this Antecedents
is clear in Dunant’s character: he was a Status Quo: No rules of war. Suffering (military) on
businessman who was involved in many grand scale
Christian movements and causes, notably Legitimacy of alternative: Non-partisan care
“The Young Men’s Christian Union”, the attractive to military leaders
counterpart to the YMCA in England. 2
Conditioning: Education, church, values, wealth.
Knowing that Napoleon III would be in
Solferino, Dunant stopped there hoping
to meet him. 3 Dunant recorded his time
in Solferino in a book, A Memory of
Solferino, which he published in 1862,
describing himself as a ‘mere tourist’. 4
His subsequent pioneering reactions are
therefore more understandable; Dunant
Moment Of Belief
was a charitable and pious man, and
Henry Dunant’s experience of the Battle of Solferino
“with his mind full of the work of Florence
and his organisation of immediate relief for the
Nightingale he visited the battlefields of
wounded.
Solferino in 1859”, where people called
him the “Monsieur en Blanc” because of
his summer attire; he was determined to
deal with the lack of food and clean water,
organize medical care, and prevent such a
level of destruction on the battlefield. 5
Dunant sent out his published memoir
to the influential people of Europe,
Consequences
hoping to make them see his vision of a
Immediate: Local community provided material
neutral united care for the wounded. 6
support for injured and dying
Describing the humanity of the troopers,
Institutional: Red Cross
his sadness at their suffering and the
Formalisation: Geneva Convention
inability to help all of them, as well as
Legacy: International Committee of the Red Cross
the horror of modern warfare, where
“men have reached the point of killing
without hating each other, and the highest
glory, the finest of all arts, is mutual
extermination.” 7 Before the 19th century,
there was no established army nursing
or safe facility to accommodate the
wounded in conflict, regardless of their
allegiance; but after the efforts of Jean-
Henri Dunant, conventions were held and
Fig. 3. Three-box model of the Henri Dunant “Moment
of Belief”
13the Red Cross was founded in 1863, which Jean-Henri Dunant started the largest
then became the ICRC in 1919. Its values humanitarian organization in the world on
rest largely on Dunant’s: alleviating human the day of his visit to Solferino, and that
suffering, protecting life and health, and moment, supported by the three-box model
upholding human dignity, especially during above, can be identified as a moment of
armed conflicts and emergencies, and belief, as it was a pioneering act, combining
its association with Switzerland remains charitable ideology and practicality there
strong through its flag. 8 and then, organising immediate relief
for every injured soldier on a large scale.
Dunant himself was not officially He brought this story back home to try
recognised for a long time, but when he and change the world, highlighting the
received the first Nobel peace prize in 1901, moral message clearly at the end: neutral,
some protested because “the Red Cross organized medical relief for conflict zones.
was not an agency for promoting peace!” 9
Dunant may have quietly agreed with this,
because his final ambition was to prevent
the need for humanitarian relief altogether.
Unfortunately, this was not achieved,
and whilst he put all of his efforts in his
humanitarian mission, became bankrupt,
and died in an alms-house.
End notes
1. Dunant, Henry. A Memory of Solferino (Un Souvenir de Solférino, first published in November 1862).
2. Andrade, E. N. da C. “Henri Dunant, Founder of the Red Cross” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts
100:4875 (1952), pp. 530-531.
3. Andrade, E. N. da C. “Henri Dunant, Founder of the Red Cross” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts
100:4875 (1952), pp. 527-536.
4. Dunant, Henry. A Memory of Solferino (1986 edition) p. 8.
5. Andrade, E. N. da C. “Henri Dunant, Founder of the Red Cross” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts
100:4875 (1952), pp. 527-536.
6. Dunant, Henry. A Memory of Solferino (1986 edition) p. 16.
7. BMJ, “The Foundation of the Red Cross” The British Medical Journal 2:2908 (BMJ, 1916), p. 429 & Henry
Dunant A Memory of Solferino (1986 edition) p.52.
8. Andrade, E. N. da C. “Henri Dunant, Founder of the Red Cross” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
100:4875 (1952), pp. 527-536.
9. Dunant, Henry. A Memory of Solferino (1986 edition) pp. 74-116.
14Bolshevik revolution
On the eve of the Soviet Congress, Despite the coup unfolding as a bloodless
November 7th 1917, the Bolshevik army political insurrection, it was not supported
were positioned around Petrograd and by many members of the Soviet Congress,
Russia’s Provisional Government waiting as they calculated the likelihood of success
for nightfall to strike. Trotsky, general of for Lenin himself and the Soviets was
the Red Army, ordered his troops to move minute. The Bolshevik Revolution seems to
in, alongside pro-Bolshevik ships arriving have been successful due to luck and long-
in the harbour. The Bolsheviks arrested the standing conditions favourable to Lenin’s
members of the Provisional Government coup in the country.
and the city fell into their hands with a
minimal amount of casualties, taking Imperial Russia faced many issues; its
the Winter Palace. This was the moment absolutist Tsarist regime and feudal
that Soviet Russia was born, that Lenin system was trying to modernize and follow
seized power for himself with his famous industrial Europe in its development whilst
“To the Citizens of Russia” telegram sent not dealing with its own political problems.
throughout the country, and that extremism Yet Russia’s involvement in the Great
became the country’s only political option War proved the fatal end of the Romanov
for many years after the event. This dynasty; so many of the country’s resources
telegram and its significance in the October were sent to the front and the soldiers that
Revolution became iconised, romanced the rest of the population starved. Populist
and repeated, shaping the story of the movements had existed in Russia prior
significance of Lenin and helping secure a to Marxism, but the 1880s saw the rapid
hold on power. It was in essence a “Moment industrial development of the country, and
of Belief”, but very different in nature to those populist parties did not attend to
those examined thus far. urban workers but to peasants. The Russian
Democratic Social Labour Party became
Early 20th Century Russia was an unstable the united front of the revolutionary parties
time for its people: overthrowing the in Russia, and at its Second Congress,
centuries old Russian Empire, forming Lenin, the extremist, had many arguments
a modern government, the Bolshevik with the opposition, which he won due
takeover, civil war, and creating the USSR, to his unwavering nature, and started
all of which happened in a relatively short the Bolshevik faction of the party (which
space of time. But the October Revolution literally means “the majority”).1 As such,
was the most defining moment in the history the break between imperial and modern
of modern Russia; having been the first Russia “was represented not by democratic
Communist-run country in the world under reformism but by despotic Bolshevism.” 2
Lenin’s command is still a large part of
contemporary Russia’s identity. The February Revolution brought down
the Tsar, but there was a considerable
15breakdown of national authority, and
therefore disobedience became the norm
for the people; the only powerful entity
that the matched their spirit of defiance
were the Bolsheviks, and Lenin was Antecedents
their clear unwavering leader, voicing Status Quo: First World War & economic problems at
his opposition to the war, endorsing home, failure of the Provisional Government.
social conflict and identifying himself Conditioning: Appeal of the Bolsheviks, February
as the force of dissatisfaction with the Revolution.
Provisional Government, who had not
Legitimacy of alternative: Lenin pushing for coup
fixed the economy nor stopped the war before the Soviet Congress.
fast enough to gain any sympathy from
the population. 3 The support for the
Bolsheviks grew with their promises of
“Peace, Bread, Land and Freedom,” and
the Red Guards were set up to help the
Bolsheviks in their mission for power;
unlike other revolutions, the extremism
of the Bolsheviks was not met by an
Moment Of Belief
opposite extremist powerful enough to
Over 24th-26th October 1917, Trotsky commanded
halt them. 4
the Red Guard to take over Petrograd in a surprise
coup, with the help of the “Aurora” warship, and the
Prior to the October Revolution, Lenin
Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace, arresting the
had been petitioning the Central Provisional Government without resistance, indeed
Committee for an uprising before the the whole coup was almost bloodless.
Soviet Congress met, and vague plans
were made, without a date or action
taken. This was simply not good enough
for Lenin, and his “adventurism” kicked
in, seeing the chance to seize the
monopoly of power to start his autocracy
despite the risk of complete defeat.
Lenin was not in Russia at the time of the Consequences
revolution, but his opinion was heard Immediate: The Red Terror (1918), Civil War 1917-
loud and clear. The Committee would 1922
not agree to Lenin’s demands as they Institutional: Creation of Communist Party
were on the verge of victory which they Formalisation: Becoming the governing force in the
Soviet Union
did not want to compromise by taking
Legacy: USSR
violent action, but on November 7th,
Kerensky, the second Minister-Chairman
of the Provisional Government, tried to
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
suppress the Bolsheviks by force. To both
parties’ surprise, the government action
could command no effective force, and
the Bolsheviks had cut all routes and
communications from Petrograd, leaving
the Provisional Government at their Fig. 4. Three-box model of the Bolshevik revolution
mercy. Trotsky commanded the operation “Moment of Belief”
with minor casualties and took command
16
of the city. Lenin presented this takeoverhe had been longing for as a fait accompli of As the above figure demonstrates, the
everything he had wanted, starting a Soviet October Revolution comprises all the
Russia under his sole command. 5 factors important to a moment of belief:
a strong, ideological yet practical action
The outcome of the October Revolution against the status quo of the Provisional
had a dramatic effect on Russia’s history Government and the people’s discontent
as well as the rest of the world’s. The with them, showing Russia the Bolsheviks’
Revolution was immediately followed by values and their strength, which became
The Red Terror, which started the Civil shared. The Communist party in Russia ran
War, where Bolsheviks started mass the country for decades, as the one ideology
killings for a month’s duration, similar to all people had to share and live with. Lenin
the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror was lauded, even after he died, as a heroic
period. The Civil War lasted until 1922 when father figure to the country’s new, modern
the Bolshevik Reds won against the anti- beginning from feudalism, and he utilised
communist Whites, but catastrophically propaganda enormously to share the story
millions of civilian suffered casualties of the Revolution and establish a shared
during the war. The Soviet Union was the culture, exactly like an ‘organisational story’
first declared Communist-run country, and in a business. Lenin persuaded over 125,000
the USSR was in place until 1991. people to convert to a socialist way of life,
which lasted over 70 years.
End notes
1. Lee, Stephen J. Lenin and Revolutionary Russia (Routledge, 2003).
2. Juliver, Peter. “Changing Russia” in Freedom’s Ordeal (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998), 11.
3. Daniels, Robert V. “The Bolshevik Gamble” in the Rise and Fall of Communism in Russia (Yale University
Press, 2007), 93-94; Juliver, Peter. “Changing Russia” in Freedom’s Ordeal (University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1998), 24.
4. Daniels, Robert V. “The Bolshevik Gamble” in the Rise and Fall of Communism in Russia (Yale University
Press, 2007), 96.
5. Daniels, Robert V. “The Bolshevik Gamble” in the Rise and Fall of Communism in Russia (Yale University
Press, 2007), 96-99.
17Henry VIII
After struggling for years to obtain an who idolized the legendary King Arthur, a
annulment of his marriage to Catherine great lover and war-lord. Once his brother
of Aragon from the Pope, Henry VIII died, Henry’s idea of being a king like his
was proclaimed by the Archbishop of hero became reality in the early years
Canterbury to be the Supreme Head of the of his reign; winning land and glory for
Church of England in 1534; thus he could England, Henry cemented the country’s
declare his own marriage null without the place in the three great powers of Europe,
Pope’s authority, and have Anne Boleyn, his alongside France and the Holy Roman
mistress, be his true wife. This kind of action Empire. Henry had married Catherine of
had never been taken by a monarch before, Aragon, his brother’s widow, and after
and although Luther’s Protestantism was multiple miscarriages and a baby girl,
spreading across Europe, Henry’s English Henry could no longer wait for a male heir.
church, which had been part of the Roman His mistress, Anne Boleyn, refused him
Catholic Church, became reformed whilst sexual relations unless they got married,
remaining catholic. Henry’s obsessive need and this pushed Henry, ally and defender of
for a legacy and male heir drove him to the Pope under any circumstances, to take
abandon his orthodox catholic views and action and ask the Pope, who dealt with
his alliance with the Pope to somewhat side such marital issues, to annul his marriage
with the Protestantism he disagreed with on to Catherine. But as well as having the crisis
so many levels, allowing the new religion of Protestantism and Luther on his hands,
to enter England and ultimately lead to the Pope Clement “was still very much under
English Reformation. The consequences the heel of Charles V, Catherine’s nephew”,
of Henry’s actions were immense: he making Henry’s wishes hard to comply
created the conditions to let the English with.1
Reformation, one of the most important
events in religious history in England, take Henry and his advisors entered a legal
place by rejecting papal authority, and argument with the Pope and Catherine’s
created Royal Supremacy over the Church own agents. Henry initially received a
of England, which is still in use today. dispensation from the Pope letting the
Pope’s legates in England decide the final
Henry’s legacy is one of the most important judgement on the matter of the divorce,
in England’s history, yet he was never meant but Catherine’s agents had another slightly
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
to be King. The second son of the royal different copy of the dispensation which
family, he received a different education gave the legates no authority to act at all.
than his brother Arthur, growing up around Having these two documents at once made
his mother and sisters, who made him it impossible to validate which one was sent
into a romantic and well-educated boy from the Pope, and furthermore there no
18proof of whether Catherine and Arthur’s
marriage had been consummated,
which Henry’s case relied on; had this
been true, according to the Bible, Henry
should never have been allowed to marry Antecedents
Catherine in the first place, as marrying Status Quo: England part of Roman Catholic Church,
one’s brother’s widow would lead to Henry orthodox in his beliefs and great ally of the Pope.
childlessness as punishment. 2 This Legitimacy of alternative: Protestantism/Luther had
trial’s failure was blamed on Cardinal pointed out the pointlessness of papal authority,
Wolsey, Henry’s right-hand man until that which is not in the Bible.
moment, but in actual fact the Pope could Conditioning: Need for male heir dire, Anne Boleyn
not give Henry what he desired because demanding marriage before sexual relations, various
Rome had been taken by Charles V, Holy miscarriages by Catherine as well as the unlawful
Roman Emperor and nephew to Catherine nature of his marriage (marrying his brother’s
of Aragon, who would never allow the widow); in 1533, Henry becomes a bigamist by
Pope to grant the divorce. Therefore, marrying Anne in secret.
Henry started battling the Pope’s
dispensing powers. 3
By chance, Thomas Cranmer, a theology
don at Cambridge, brought Henry and
Anne the answer they needed: treating
the matter as legal was futile, but treating Moment Of Belief
it as a moral one would lead to success. Henry VIII, after years of attempting to obtain an
The Bible supplied absolute answers, annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon,
and universal theologians would give is declared by Archbishop of Canterbury to be the
clear and unambiguous answers, which Supreme Head of the Church of England.
the Pope and Rome could not refuse. 4
This new information was once again
discredited by Catherine’s agents,
but Henry himself became ever more
convinced that his God-given office
declared him an emperor and therefore
would not be under the authority of the Consequences
Pope, as kings can be found in scripture, Immediate: Pope excommunicated Henry from the
but not Popes. These ideas were Roman Catholic Church.
close to Luther’s, which Anne Boleyn Institutional: The Church of England was declared no
supported, but this did not deter Henry; longer under papal authority by Henry, now Supreme
the Archbishop of Canterbury, role newly Head of the Church of England.
appointed to Cranmer, accepted his Formalisation: Oath to be taken by nobles and
demands to become Supreme Head of the religious figures to reject papal authority and accept
Church of England as well as declaring king’s marriage to Anne Boleyn.
the divorce, putting Anne in the place of Legacy: Royal Supremacy over Church of England
and English Reformation.
Henry’s true wife, as they had married in
secret two years before the divorce.
Fig. 5. Three-box model of Henry VIII and the
separation from Rome “Moment of Belief”
19This moment lead to significant change him a healthy baby boy. This mean that the
for England and Catholic Europe; Charles reason for Henry’s disputes with Rome had
V was furious, the Pope excommunicated suddenly vanished, but Henry had become
Henry from the Roman Catholic Church, so convinced of his introducing the ‘true
and Henry simultaneously started the religion’ that his posterity and legacy came
English Reformation and Royal Supremacy first.7 Undoubtedly, Henry’s most important
over the Church of England, which made legacy is his separation of the Church of
him “the spiritual father of his people and England from Rome, as well as having six
master of that new institution, the national wives in his lifetime, but his decision for
Church of England,” wherein spirituality and separation changed England and Catholic
temporality joined into the same body of Europe’s history. The first monarch to reject
politic. 5 He made the nobles and religious papal authority, he endorsed Luther’s cause
figures take oaths to reject papal authority to a certain extent, which lead to the English
and accept Henry’s marriage to Anne, which Reformation and the birth of Anglicanism.
his Lord Chancellor Thomas More refused,
and was therefore convicted of treason, Henry’s move to separate the Church
which resulted in his death. 6 of England from Rome was initially for
practical purposes, to marry Anne Boleyn
Henry initiated the dissolution of the and have a male heir, but as the case
monasteries under his new imperial went on it became ideological; Henry
authority, creating a huge crisis in his was questioning papal authority as it is
country: people were angry at Henry not found in scripture, yet kings are. The
rejecting the old religion and separating “Moment of Belief”, shown in the figure
from Rome, as well as protesting above, was his anointment as Supreme
against the King’s chief minister Thomas Head of the Church of England, declaring
Cromwell’s policies, and this led to a himself above the Pope, for which he was
40,000 strong uprising in Yorkshire, dubbed understandably excommunicated. His
‘The Pilgrimage of Grace’. Henry’s forces actions went against his known values of
suppressed this rebellion by working orthodox Catholicism, but as he was king he
with Parliament. After so many years and forced his nobles and clergymen to share
extreme measures taken to officialise their his new set of values rejecting Rome. This
love, Anne was executed after only three moment is his greatest legacy; he indirectly
years of being queen, because she had not allowed Protestantism and Anglicanism to
assumed the role of a submissive wife and form in England and changed the way the
had failed to give Henry the male heir he largest force in Europe, the Roman Catholic
so desired. The day after her execution, Church, was perceived by other monarchs
Henry became engaged to Jane Seymour, by accepting alternative beliefs to the
his mistress, who became his wife and gave Roman Catholic tradition.
MOMENTS OF BELIEF
20Timeline
JUNE 1509 Henry’s marriage to Catherine
1527 Henry asking Pope for divorce from Catherine
MAY 1533 Marriage to Anne Boleyn
1534 Declaration of Supreme Head of Church of England and divorce
(Act of Supremacy) from Catherine
MAY 1536 Death of Anne Boleyn; Marriage to Jane Seymour
End notes
1. Thurston, Herbert. “The Divorce of Henry VIII” An Irish Quarterly Review 21:81 (March 1932), pp. viii-60.
2. Thurston, Herbert. “The Divorce of Henry VIII” An Irish Quarterly Review 21:81 (March 1932), pp. 62-66.
3. Thurston, Herbert. “The Divorce of Henry VIII” An Irish Quarterly Review 21:81 (March 1932), p. 70.
4. Monarchy, “Henry VIII King and Emperor”, episode 2 on channel 4, written by Dr David Starkey. 2005.
Accessed online (channel 4 on demand).
5. Scarisbrick, J. J. “The Royal Supremacy and Theology” in Henry VIII (YUP, 1997), p. 384.
6. Monarchy, “Henry VIII King and Emperor”, episode 2 on channel 4, written by Dr David Starkey. 2005.
Accessed online (channel 4 on demand).
7. Monarchy, “Henry VIII King and Emperor”, episode 2 on channel 4, written by Dr David Starkey. 2005.
Accessed online (channel 4 on demand).
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