It feels odd to be reading this here on one hand, and on the other, to be reading two books on Naziism in Germany and one on the Stalinist Purges. Because they pointed out the same thing you did. That even though many Germans and Russians (along with the several dozen assorted nationalities, tribes, and ethnicities in Russia) KNEW there was something horribly wrong with 'the system', they still were convinced that everything would get better just as soon as Hitler or Stalin stopped listening to their crooked advisers.

But those who want reaction, even, are fringe, and those who want revolution are nutcases in an overwhelming number of societies.

Dumb question: then what about events like the Hussite Uprising or Revolutionary France?