The Ninth of Thermidor
Jul. 28th, 2006 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rain_gryphonAnd I overlooked that yesterday was the Ninth of Thermidor, the day which marks both the accession and fall of Maximilien Robespierre, the Incorruptible.
Robespierre impresses me deeply. He's largely overlooked today, but he's one of the pivotal figures of history, without whom the ideological tyrannies of the 20th century such as Communism and Naziism would probably never have happened. Certainly there had been tyrants in the past, but all of them recognized that there were practical limits to their power. Robespierre did not. Robespierre was the first to imagine that it might be possible to build a perfected society by changing human nature itself.
Like most men who have launched Wagnerian-scale political disasters, Robespierre honestly meant to do good, and had unshakeable faith in his own judgement of right and wrong. The phrase "The Reign of Terror" wasn't bestowed upon his government by his enemies - he named it that humself. His shining vision of a perfect world justified any measures needed to bring it about, and he minced no words about what was required.
So, take a moment today to reflect on the legacy of Maximilien Robespierre. In a very real sense, he built the 20th century.
Robespierre impresses me deeply. He's largely overlooked today, but he's one of the pivotal figures of history, without whom the ideological tyrannies of the 20th century such as Communism and Naziism would probably never have happened. Certainly there had been tyrants in the past, but all of them recognized that there were practical limits to their power. Robespierre did not. Robespierre was the first to imagine that it might be possible to build a perfected society by changing human nature itself.
Like most men who have launched Wagnerian-scale political disasters, Robespierre honestly meant to do good, and had unshakeable faith in his own judgement of right and wrong. The phrase "The Reign of Terror" wasn't bestowed upon his government by his enemies - he named it that humself. His shining vision of a perfect world justified any measures needed to bring it about, and he minced no words about what was required.
So, take a moment today to reflect on the legacy of Maximilien Robespierre. In a very real sense, he built the 20th century.
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Date: 2006-07-28 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-29 11:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-29 08:03 pm (UTC)If you wish to keep on collecting wool, it is best to shear the sheep, not rip their skin off and then butcher any which baa, lest their be outbursts of popular anger and uprisings thereof e.g french and russian revolution.
However it is the achilles heel of the rich and powerful that they can never see the bigger picture and often will fight against those who have their long term intests at heart, as well as those who really do oppose rule by an elite.
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Date: 2006-08-15 04:26 am (UTC)My chief problem with Ghandi is that the man's a demagogue, and has little regard for the consequences of his actions. In that he's quite simialr to Pat Robertson or ML King. Vast amounts of suffering resulted from Ghandi's determination to have an independent India, and it's likely that we're not done yet. Das Beeb has a new photo essay titled "The Horrors of India's Partition" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/south_asia_india0s_partition/html/1.stm), in fact. Independence movements rarely result in the people being happier or better-governed. They do result in wealth and power for the leaders of such movements, though.