Was the French Revolution a success or a failure for France?

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Was the French Revolution a success or a failure for France?

To answer this question, we must first define the revolution itself. French Revolution (1789-1799) is traditionally known as the long struggle of the French public against the pre-existing Ancien Regime and all injustices associated with it. It is also described as the battle between the new ideals of enlightenment and democracy against the old authority of the divine right of the king.

In my view, these definitions are at once inadequate and misleading. For one thing, while the ideals of enlightenment and the teachings of the ‘philosophes’ gave impetus to the cause, the ideals were certainly never the actual triggerant of the revolution. The French middleclass and peasantry were hardly politically involved enough to wage a decade-long struggle against mere ideals. What brought in the entire public an unquenchable anger at the Bourbons was not their absolute monarchy or even the blatant exploitation of the power. All that was always there before, yet the French Revolution never occurred at the times of Louis XIV or Louis XV.

What pushed the subjects to that violent display of force were ontological crises…shortage of bread, increase in taxes and a severe disapproval of the foreign queen and the rumors of luxuries and frivolity at the Bourbon court (while the last can hardly be considered ontological in nature, it certainly contributed to a rise in the misunderstandings between Louis XVI and his subjects).

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Now, as with every revolution ushered by the unchecked public rage instead of calculated and planned objectives, the French Revolution was at the same time a success and a failure. In so far as the establishment of democracy is concerned, the French Revolution was, no doubt, a great success for France as she permanently found a place in the hearts of nationalists. Indeed, the success of the Revolution can be truly appreciated when one notices the constant appearance of some form of the tricolor on the flags of every country united or emancipated from the earlier rule under a nationalist ...

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