2009-12-16

The Myth Of The French Revolution

Here's a piece on the French Revolution written, appropriately enough, in French.

The crux? How it never lived up to its promise. Instead, it degraded itself eventually commiting suicide under the full weight of reactionary violence through the vile and murderous Reign of Terror.

Tyranny is a tough habit to break. America is the only nation to create a prosperous and functional free society. It's under duress right now but it's notable to remind that America didn't undergo the rampant massacres seen in France.

The philosophical heritage of the enlightenment found its ultimate expression in America and not France.

The post reminded me of the debate in letters between the great conservative thinker Edmund Burke and philosopher Thomas Paine; so influential a figure in the annals leading up to the American Revolution. Burke considered the French Revolution an act against reason and an exercise in tyranny. Paine believed it was man freeing himself from the shackles of tyranny.

I wonder, in the context of what happened in the aftermath, who won this debate? Can we say Burke did? Although, Paine was vindicated with the success of the American Revolution.

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Thank you for for the link!

    Whilst it was absolutely natural for America to release itself from the shackles of royalist England under George III (who ended his life a mad man) it's interesting that royalist France under Louis XVI actively supported the American war of Independence against the English monarchy. (The Marquis de Lafayette was a royalist of course, who eventually had to flee from France himself to avoid decapitation).
    It was an incoherent and paradoxical period, even more so when one considers that electricity was being invented, when heads were still rolling in France, seemingly in another less enlightening period still officially claimed to be so positive.

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  3. @ The Commentator:

    Interesting point. Burke was basically conservative, while Paine was somehow a “professional radical” and a revolutionary propagandist without peer. Hence, in my opinion, their different views about the French Revolution. While the first sympathized with the colonists in North America, he did not believe in the overall social revolution which took place in France (the American Revolution, as it is well known, did not result in a new social order, instead).
    In addition, Paine was more “idealistic” than Burke. In his Common Sense, by far the most influential tract of the American Revolution, Paine not only advocated an immediate declaration of independence, he also put forward a special moral duty of America to the rest of the world…

    Because of his own idealism he saw the glass (the F.R.) half full, while Burke saw the glass half empty. Who was right and who was wrong? Perhaps both of them were right (and wrong) in their own ways. However, notwithstanding this my favorite revolution is the American one.

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  4. First, no comment was deleted; Mirino's comment posted twice. I merely removed one. Just a note.

    Yes, Mirino, France did support the American cause and with great success. Ironies do indeed abound. Such is life and history!

    Incoherent as it was, it did, I believe, present a concrete blueprint for people seeking independence in the Age of Revolutions in the 19th century - Italy included.

    Rob, thanks for clearing that up. I like that about Paine: A professional radical. His impact was massive yet died poor and forgotten.

    Burke "basically" conservative? No! He WAS!

    Ciao and welcome Mirino.

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  5. It was inevitable, as was the French Revolution. The 'French establishment' no longer consider Napoleon someone to be proud of. They are in fact more critical of him than of any who took part in the criminal reign of terror itself. Yet, internally he set things straight after the revolution, re-legitimising France. In a way he also 'Europeanised' Europe. Obviously he went too far in Spain, and certainly in Russia, but perhaps he was the necessary, temporary compromise between anarchy and monarchy. He probably saved France from the black hole vortex of its own revolution, which still, amazingly, is officially claimed to be the foundation of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity..

    In comparison the American Revolution (the Brits call it the War of Independence) was much more 'civil', a bit like a good American film, with the amusing Boston Tea Party for starters. '.. With the French with Indian allies, and eventually the Brits with Indian allies. An epic. ... And we fired once more and the British kept-a-coming but there was not many as there was a while ago..etc..'
    (I illustrated some pages in the Hutchinson's Book 'Kings & Queens'. Some were on on George III. I enjoyed making making a little vignette parody of the Boston Tea Party).

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  6. I agree with Napoleon. His influence was incredible.

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