The lessons of the French Revolution

A superpower in decline, dragged down by a destructive seven-year war.
A once-mighty economy hollowed-out and riddled with escalating, unpayable deficits.
An out-of-touch elite growing ever-more fabulously wealthy and debauched while the middle and lower classes sank into desperate jobless misery and hunger.
Bold, new ideas about freedom spreading through a new technology and new forms of media (the hand-bill press) to large numbers of people, waking them up for the first time.

Sound familar?

If so, you might find value in a review of the French Revolution and all that it entailed, if you haven't studied the topic in depth since your schooldays or whatever. I found the following three-part video series to be fascinating and provocative on many levels:

The French Revolution (video)*

The paralells of our own times with the pre-revolutionary scenario are obvious. Beyond this, the horror of the Great Terror that followed is a sobering reminder of how even the most noble intentions can spiral out of control.

Would be interested in any general impressions by any posters regarding the French Revolution and what it has to teach us today.


*I found video link above from the link in the first post of this thread created recently by shauny. Thanks shauny!



[edit on 6/26/10 by silent thunder]

Here are a few inflammatory quotes from some of the pamphleteers of the French Revolution...some would be right at home on the more extreme ATS threads, although they'd violate the Terms and Conditions even 200 years later...

(Warning: strong language at links)
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Jaques Hebert, "The Great Anger of Pere Duchesne", 1791

"You can’t do anything without a bunch of f**king as**s finding a reason to complain. F**k, the most patriotic women constantly do whatever they can to serve the revolution and a thousand venomous tongues set out to poison their efforts. What is so wrong about going to look for the King so as to tell him that his aunts are crazy to want to undertake a ridiculous trip, a trip that alarms all good citizens because they don’t trust the people around them? F**k! If I had in my hands one of these buggers who speak ill of beautiful national acts it would be my pleasure to give them a f**ing hard time. As for me, when I meet these brave women who, when it comes to virtue, are as good as the Maid of Orleans I run up to them, I take them in my arms and I’ll be f**ked if we don’t share bacchic libations in honor of the fatherland. "

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Also, for the title alone --
Jaques Hebert, "F**k the Pope", 1790
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Marat: Pamphlet, "C'en est fait de nous" ("We're done for!"), 26 July 1790:

"Five or six hundred heads would have guaranteed your freedom and happiness but a false humanity has restrained your arms and stopped your blows. If you don’t strike now, millions of your brothers will die, your enemies will triumph and your blood will flood the streets. They'll slit your throats without mercy and disembowel your wives. And their bloody hands will rip out your children’s entrails to erase your love of liberty forever!"




[edit on 8/3/10 by silent thunder]

People who want to overthrow 'the system' are inevitably extremists and go on to do all manner of crazy and shocking acts when given power for themselves.

More at eleven.