Problems with Iran :: Iran Economics Allies History Essays

Problems with IranIran is a kingdom located in the Middle East. The principal(prenominal)source of income for the country is oil, the one object that hadgreatly influenced its history. Irans present government is runas an Islamic Republic. A president, cabinet, judicial branch,and Majilesor or legislative branch, makes up the governmentalpositions. A revolution that overthrew the monarch, which wasset in 1930, lasted over 15 years. Crane Brintons book, AnAnatomy of a transmutation, explains set of four steps a countryexperiences when a revolution occurs. Symptoms, rising fever,crisis, and convalescence are the steps that occur. The IranianRevolution followed the four steps in Crane Brintons theory,symptoms, rising fever, crisis, and convalescence occurred. many symptoms led to the crumbling downfall of Reza ShahPahlavi, ruler of Iran until 1978. One of these symptoms isrising expectations which can be seen during the 1960s and 70s.The rich Shah cleared the way for the land reform law, enacted in1962. The land minority had to give up its land to thegovernment, and among those stripped of land, were the ShiahMuslims. Irans power structure was radically changed in aprogram termed the White Revolution. On January 26, 1963, theWhite Revolution was endorsed by the nation. By 1971, when landdistribution ended, about 2,500,000 families of the farmpopulation benefited from the reforms. From 1960-72 thepercentage of owner occupied farmland in Iran rose from 26 to 78percent. Per capita income rose from $176 in 1960 to $2,500 in1978. From 1970-77 the gross national product was reported toincrease to an annual rate of 7.8% (Iran 896). As a result ofthis thriving economy, the income go against rapidly widened. Exclusivehomes, extravagant restaurants, and night clubs and streetsloaded with expensive automobiles served as daily reminders of agrowing income spread. This created a perfect environment formany conflicts to countermand between the classes.Irans elite class co nsisted of wealthy land owners,intelligencia, military leaders, politicians, and diplomats. TheElite continued to support the monarchy and the Shah. Thepeasants were victim of unfulfilled political expectations,surveillance by the enigmatical police, and the severe social andeconomic problems that resulted from modernization. The middleclass favored socialism over capitalism, because capitalism intheir view supported the elite, and does not benefit the lourclasses. The middle class was the most changeable element in thegroup, because they enjoyed some of the privileges of the elite,which they would like to protect. At the same time, theybelieved that they had been cheated by the elite out of theirshare of the industrial enterprise wealth (Orwin 43).