My view (and it only my opinion which I don’t expect anyone to share) on it is that the French Revolution was the precursor of Marxism, Nazism and the general collapse of European society.
The revolutionaries in France systematically pulled their society out by the roots and attempted to create a utopian replacement. Didn’t work of course though some things (such as the metric system) stuck. The destruction they did also abided. And, sadly, probably inevitably, the French Revolution led to the rapid rise of the prototypical Euro-tyrant — Napoleon.
As capable as Napoleon was, he and the Revolution set a very poor example for future generations of Europeans. On one hand social upheaval became philosophically permissible and on the other so did acceptance of dictators who possessed no claim to legitimacy other than as a preferable alternative to the anarchy the upheaval inevitably inflicted.
The gradual collapse of the old orders did not lead to social improvement. Nations of the continent would have done well to follow the British example of a constitutional monarchy.
I won’t go into the Crimean war in any detail except to point out that it was rooted primarily on the long standing conflict between the Russians and the Moslems. And to note that a quiet period followed until the rise of Prussia with its twin victories over Austria and France — and the creation of the German Empire.
Europe didn’t really need a German Empire, especially coming as late as it did in the industrial revolution. It was bad news all around.
Could a sustained, legitimate and (ideally) Constitutional Monarchy on the British model in France have prevented the creation of a German Empire? We’ll never know. But Napoleon’s nephew and his faux revival of Imperial glory certainly could not.
We all know what followed. The disastrous First World War, the sudden collapse of three Empires, the rise of Nazism and Communism, WWII, the most unfortunate collapse of the British Empire, the Cold War, global chaos and a general decline in social stability and values.
And again it’s just my view. Just ruminating, really.
It had some influence, but the major precursor of Marxism was the Paris Commune.
“And again it’s just my view. Just ruminating, really.”
And are you digesting in each of your tummies before regurgitating on this thread?
I think a better way to put it would be that traditional European society, based on aristocracy, was doomed to fall apart. Marx was entirely correct that it was incompatible with industrial society.
With a little less idiocy on the part of the aristos and a little less impatience on the part of the intellectuals, Europe could conceivably have had a "soft landing" rather than a crash.
To find the roots of Marxism in the French Revolution is not a new thing at all. It has been the conventional wisdom in leftist circles since the early 19th century.
Heck, the first Communist theme song was the “Marseillaise” (even the Russian Bolsheviks sang it), the “ Internationale” came later.
I agree. Could argue around the edges, but overall, good post.