In defense of revolutions

This mixed record is as old as modern revolutions
themselves. As Hannah Arendt argued in 1963, revolutions have tended to follow
the path of either of the first two great revolutions: the American and French.
Broadly speaking, the American Revolution was largely about political claims
and ended rather peacefully and successfully. Conversely, the French Revolution
tried to reconcile social and economic injustices and ended in a Reign of Terror
and counter-revolution.

Conservatives beginning with Edmund Burke love to point at
the excesses of the French Revolution, but they too often fail to recognize the
power of political action. Hannah Arendt never lived to see the events of 1989
and the peaceful unification of her homeland, but it would have likely given
her great joy. The French may have given revolutions a bad name, but the fall
of the Berlin Wall should remind us that wherever oppression exists,
revolutions are still necessary and, occasionally, worth celebrating.

The views expressed in this blog do not represent the views or opinions of Generations United.