Revolutions come after the collapse, not before

Social change comes about primarily through the catalysis of new social structures after the old status quo has disintegrated under its own weight.

Before the collapse there is a lull where the old system is known to be no longer sustainable but where the inertia of incumbency preserves the status quo. This lull is the moment of highest collective self-deception. It is the moment when power is least deserved and most abused. Political theory worries about the chaos of unfettered democracy, the danger of too much leftism. This moment of highest collective self-deception defines the degeneracy of unfettered aristocracy, the danger of too much rightism.

Revolutions are triggered by the latter; they lose their energy under the former.