Re: French Revolution

The goal of the French revolution was to overthrow a corrupt and
repressive monarchy, much that same as that of the US revolution, the
Russian revolution, the Chinese and Cuban and Hatien and Jamaican
revolutions and many others. The political system brought in to
replace the overthrown regime has always varied with the society. The
US revolution brought in a bourgois society where slavery was
commonplace, women were second class citizens and millions of others
such as native people and chinese were barely considered to be human.
The French replacement for the monarchy was much more humane than that,
despite it's failure. Democracy as it is now practiced was an
invention of the late 20th century and is still in an experimental
stage. There is no guarantee that it will survive (especially if the
Bush family stays in power much longer) in the US and it is a radically
different system in Europe and Canada. The term must be defined each
time it is used.

El.
Cormagh wrote:
I'm a little out of my depths on French history, so this is only a credo of
what I've learned. Other than Burke, I haven't read much criticism of the
revolution. If anyone could feel free to comment on my facts, preferably
with references, I would appreciate it. Also, if anyone wishes to attack my
analysis, you are forgiven. ;-)

Democracy is a natural reaction to improper government and problems in
governing. It should not be made an end in itself. The tendency of
autocratic governments to misdirect and get into trouble is well known in
history. Problems occur in an autocratic setting when competing classes of
individuals begin to assert their political rights. Perhaps the best example
of this is the France of Louis XVI. The goal of this government was clearly
to find a political outlet, establish democracy, and balance the interests
of all classes in the interests of the Monarchy, and of course, stability.
That this effort was eventually unstable is legendary and typical of many
power struggles in world history. What is also legendary in the case of
France was the resistance to democracy in the 30 years following the
debacle. When models of democracy existed in England and America, the
various French governments were hard pressed for a long time to arrive at a
satisfactory democratic solution of their own, despite much bloodshed. As a
matter of fact, it could be said that classes of people, desperate to avoid
compromising their future power in this situation, gladly substituted
bloodshed for democracy.


Thanks,
Cormagh

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: French Revolution
    ... Russian revolution, the Chinese and Cuban and Hatien and Jamaican ... The French replacement for the monarchy was much more humane than that, ... Democracy is a natural reaction to improper government and problems in ... The goal of this government was clearly ...
    (soc.history)
  • Re: Ass raped at the pumps Options
    ... people lose faith in that government & it's ability to protect them. ... HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ... democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters ...
    (rec.autos.makers.ford.mustang)
  • hai sa ne mai ocupam si da kestii serioase, aaaaaa ?!
    ... For this act of heresy, Trotsky, the champion of permanent revolution, ... to advance not global communism, ... and operate their own Neo-Comintern. ... The National Endowment for Democracy, which pumps out tens of millions ...
    (soc.culture.romanian)
  • Re: Race Hate Man Convicted
    ... the form of a totalitarian government. ... that it never had a revolution that worked, not really - so we've got ... Democracy is where the people decide on the laws. ... Some Christian sects have a funny view of this sort of thing. ...
    (uk.people.support.depression)
  • Democratic revolution sweeping the world
    ... Democracy could still win in Iran ... Thirty years after the Iranian revolution, could we be witnessing an Iranian ... Democracy came to the Philippines, ...
    (soc.culture.singapore)