I hope for the sake of his own credibility he means the one that happened in 1848. -rightwinggoth
Why certainly he is. That is also the year that Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto" was first published.
Unless otherwise clarified, I think French Revolution denotes what happened in 1792-1794 - the latter event is named Revolution of 1848. Because of this, and his specific mention of Robespierre and the Jacobins, I believe Horowitz meant the original one. But I am not quite sure, because it seems he would have been more clear that he was speaking of the genealogy of the socialist and communist movements.
Great piece, though. Horowitz is really hitting his stride.
I think you are correct about the time of the original revolution. Marx's philosophy may have evolved from that. I thought 1848 sounded late but I was to ignorant to know and too lazy to research it. Thanks.
In that decade, the French suffered three revolutions and that period is known as the "Reign of Terror."