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Article: Reflections on the revolution. (French Revolution)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- July 14, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, Whose bicentennial is commemorated this year, was so comprehensive, concentrated, and brutal that it became a standard by which all later revolutions were judged. Yet in 1789 France was the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful state in Western Europe. Its writers dominated the European intellect; its bourgeoisie was strong and prosperous; its peasants owned two-fifths of the land and cultivated nearly all of it. What reason was there for revolution? One answer was supplied by Napoleon. Vanity, he said-liberty was only a pretext. One can see the argument. The aristocracy, only 2 per cent of the population, enjoyed a privileged position which ...