The modern world is using largely the legal technology that came out of the French Revolution, a combination of: nationalism, democracy (on the surface) and oli

The modern world is using largely the legal technology that came out of the French Revolution, a combination of: nationalism, democracy (on the surface) and oligarchy (below the surface). Regarding the American Revolution, it is interesting to note that tax rates immediately after were higher than during British rule. Even George Washington part-took in the centralization of the American state afterwards: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion . (The Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated that the new national government had the willingness and ability to suppress violent resistance to its laws.) Of course, the idea of a centralized state (with imperial ambitions if it has enough power) is thousands of years old.