I think you hit upon an important facet: for a revolution, trust in the old system has to deteriorate so much that evolution is no longer considered viable, but only painful, painful revolution. Europe had its share of painful revolutions, ones that led to horrible wars, so the stomach for revolution versus evolution is pretty weak.
Another thing that sours me personally on revolutions is stuff like the PA GOP here, who themselves are hoping for a revolution. Only in their case, they are expecting that they will come out on top as local warlords. That’s why they really are angry at their senator, for not being as nihilistic as they are, not as loyal to destroying everything if they can’t get their way.
