I want to offer a slightly different interpretation along the same lines.

Socialism would be a good platform of reform not just because it's a general word describing a revolutionary regime, but because, by definition, socialism (or communism) in any form implies taking power out of the hands of the ruling class - whoever they might be - and providing it to the powerless. Each and every revolutionary leadership involved an eradication of the elites, be they a royal family, a burgeoisie, an intelligentsia, or a government; the revolutionaries are, supposedly, people of humble descent but noble capabilities and charisma.

Of course, none of these becomes the pure Marxist form of socialism, because once the former elite is eradicated, a new elite emerges, new caste systems and power inequalities emerge, and the "humble" leadership becomes its own nobility.