Obviously a bloodbath won't help, it will create martyrs.
What if despite manipulation and constant financial pressure, the ideals are still strong?
As long as there are idealists or utopians bringing more people to their new reality, the revolution will feed itself.
So, if you are a government, a huge corporation, or someone who simply has that world at his or her feet right now, and you are bothered by the disruptions to come, what would you do? By now you probably figured I'm not talking about the French Revolution depicted in the image above.
Would you say you are against it? Tried that, didn't really work, and if this revolution picks up speed, you would be on the other side. The losing side.
Why not say you embrace it instead? Except you will do it on your own terms. You won't say that of course. As long as you keep control and influence the course of the 'perceived revolution' for the masses the way you want it to go, you accomplish your goal.
If the revolution succeeds, despite all your efforts, you're on the right side and you can claim your spot, as I'm sure you will.
If the revolution fails, I'm sure you'll point out to all its flaws that yourself made sure would be the main subject of disappointment among the masses, before the real revolution gets to them! Maybe find some inconvenient people to blame?
How does the real revolution survive? By spotting the Trojan horses and preventing the hijacking and distortions of their ideals.
Maybe this is only the worse case scenario I could think of after reading a post and making a few connections with something I read in the past. I certainly would prefer a positive outcome, as you can imagine.