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> It is increasingly tempting to vote for the Guillotine. It didn't work so well the last few times it was used - the English revolution, the French revolution
by DenisM 6y ago
> It is increasingly tempting to vote for the Guillotine.
It didn't work so well the last few times it was used - the English revolution, the French revolution, the Russian revolution, all ended up in a bloodbath, next one more gruesome than the last. I urge you to reconsider.
Also I recommend "the revolutions" podcast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Duncan_(podcaster) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Duncan_(podcaster)
- runarberg 6y agoFrance never returned back to monarchy, and Russia never reinstated the empire after the revolutions. Yes some awful people used the political turmoil to seize power in both cases—and similar thing would probably happen if Americans started chopping the heads of the rich—but in both cases the revolutions left a lasting mark, and both France and Russia are more democratic then they were during monarchy (although Russia is in serious regression at the moment). This is not necessary the case though, as seen after the Cuban or the Zapatista revolution in Chiapas, Mexico. At some point revolution becomes necessary, and if democratic means remain unavailable, this revolution will be violent. Horrible people using the political turmoil will become a risk people are willing to take in this growing frustration.
- madhadron 6y ago> France never returned back to monarchy Napoleon III would like a word with you.
- slavik81 6y agoFrench Revolution (1789–1799) Napoleon I, Emperor of the French (1804–1814) Louis XVIII, King of France (1814–1824) Charles X, King of France (1824–1830) Louis Philippe I, King of France (1830–1848) Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (1852–1870)
- Leherenn 6y agoWell, Napoleon Bonaparte as well, plus all the kings between him and Napoleon III.
- JAlexoid 6y agoIf you read up on the history of French revolution, they didn't particularly want a republic. They got a republic as the last resort... and they changed the country forever, even Emperor Napoleon didn't roll everything back. They still wanted a lot of changes to allow more freedom, restrictions and more transparency... just not necessarily a formal republic. Think about this - in CATO's own Human Freedom Index half of the top 16 countries are monarchies. 1 New Zealand - monarchy 2 Switzerland - republic 3 Hong Kong (definitely not going to be in #4 now) 4 Canada - monarchy 5 Australia - monarchy 6 Denmark - monarchy 6 Luxembourg - monarchy 8 Finland - republic 8 Germany - republic 10 Ireland - repulbic 11 Sweden - monarchy 11 Netherlands - monarchy 13 Austria - republic 14 United Kingdom - monarchy 15 Estonia - republic 15 United States - republic
- jki275 6y agoHonest question, do you believe Lenin and Stalin were better than the Czars? I'm not arguing either were good, just curious about your point of view here.
- runarberg 6y agoidk. Russia had a lot of czars, some of them (like Ivan the Terrible) were probably worse then even Stalin, and some of them might even have been better then Gorbachev. That said, the revolutionary spirit under Czar Nicolas II were completely rational, and understandable. The use of violence was needed because the ruling class was—unlike at the end of the Soviet Union—unwilling to make the revolution happen peacefully. Nobody can tell the future. The fact that awful people might use the turmoil to seize power is not something that people are thinking about when they are trying to overthrow their current oppressors.
- mcv 6y agoFrance returned back to monarchy a couple of times. They kept switching back and forth between various kind of monarchies and republics. Fortunately not with the kind of bloodbaths that accompanied the initial revolution.