The common view [by the liberal establishment] of the French Revolution is that it was a justified rebellion of oppressed lower classes against a tyrannical king, corrupt nobilities, and an insensitive church. Some try to portray the French Revolution as similar to the American Revolution--a blow for freedom and self-government struck against tyranny. The high middle age kingdom of Louis IX was destroyed by the wars of religion, by the absolutism created by Cardinal Richelieu, by the extravagance of Louis XIV, and by the corruption of Louis XV. The results for France were the creation of a parasitical nobility, which...