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Thread: Was the French Revolution a good thing or a bad thing?

  1. #1

    Was the French Revolution a good thing or a bad thing?

    I just finished listening to this video defending monarchies.


    In it he refers to the French Revolusion as "filthy". So, is he right? Was it "filthy" or would it be more accurate to describe monarchies as filthy?



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  3. #2
    It was a good thing because it led to Napoleon's rise. Napoleon was one of the greatest men to have ever lived.

  4. #3
    Bad. The American Revolution was good.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by eduardo89 View Post
    It was a good thing because it led to Napoleon's rise. Napoleon was one of the greatest men to have ever lived.
    I'm curious about your statement.

    I've read two biographies on him years ago. Both written by Brits. Both portrayed him as a very corrupt, arrogant tyrant. However, I know the British did not like him and it was biased. Where did you get your info about Napoleon?

    BTW his fiasco in Egypt bears strong resemblance to our middle east meddlings.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by RJB View Post
    I'm curious about your statement.

    I've read two biographies on him years ago. Both written by Brits. Both portrayed him as a very corrupt, arrogant tyrant. However, I know the British did not like him and it was biased. Where did you get your info about Napoleon?
    Yeah I'm curious about that, too. I'm familiar with Napoleon being portrayed in a negative fashion. Even in a Bugs Bunny cartoon he's portrayed as this small, angry, megalomaniacal character. If the Redcoats are responsible for Napoleon's negative portrayal, then to me that's a sign that he was probably actually a good guy. The modern day French don't strike me as people who have an affinity for libertarianism, though.

  7. #6
    It may depend on whether you were a French aristocrat or not.

  8. #7
    Yeah, the French Revolution was basically a proto-Marxist phenomenon. You had starving people pissed off at a monarch who were being manipulated by a bunch of Freemasonic Jacobins who IMO were definitely being manipulated themselves by some other groups (Jesuits for example). The French Revolution redefined the concept of liberty to mean "government privileges", and what happened in The Terror speaks for itself. Then, you had the rise of Emperor Napoleon who could think of nothing better to do but raise mass armies of peasants who would then attack all their neighbors trying to "spread liberty". So thank Napoleon for the whole concept of modern mass warfare. Even from a Catholic world-view the guy was a real douche, considering the fact that he attacked the Papal States and abducted not one, but two Popes. It was this second Pope who ended up re-instituting the then banned Jesuits, and Napoleon's main military adviser was also Jesuit trained (Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès). He's also the guy who coined the term "sociology".
    Last edited by Petar; 02-13-2014 at 06:51 PM.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by eduardo89 View Post
    It was a good thing because it led to Napoleon's rise. Napoleon was one of the greatest men to have ever lived.
    Did you just say that the guy who basically gave the Pope the finger in front of all of Europe is one of the best men who ever lived?



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by RJB View Post
    I'm curious about your statement.

    I've read two biographies on him years ago. Both written by Brits. Both portrayed him as a very corrupt, arrogant tyrant. However, I know the British did not like him and it was biased. Where did you get your info about Napoleon?

    BTW his fiasco in Egypt bears strong resemblance to our middle east meddlings.
    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Desmond View Post
    Yeah I'm curious about that, too. I'm familiar with Napoleon being portrayed in a negative fashion. Even in a Bugs Bunny cartoon he's portrayed as this small, angry, megalomaniacal character. If the Redcoats are responsible for Napoleon's negative portrayal, then to me that's a sign that he was probably actually a good guy. The modern day French don't strike me as people who have an affinity for libertarianism, though.
    The English think Napoleon is the Devil, mostly because he came within a hair's length of destroying the Empire. If he had won Trafalgar then the British would have been screwed. Unfortunately for Napoleon, the French Navy blew and he wasn't a good sea strategist. And we've absorbed the English view of him because of our shared language and culture.

    I suggest "The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte" and "The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte" both by Robert Asprey. They're pretty straight forward, clear, and concise about Napoleon's life, military campaigns, and politics. He remains as unbiased as possible and it really shows.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by RJB View Post
    I'm curious about your statement.

    I've read two biographies on him years ago. Both written by Brits. Both portrayed him as a very corrupt, arrogant tyrant. However, I know the British did not like him and it was biased. Where did you get your info about Napoleon?

    BTW his fiasco in Egypt bears strong resemblance to our middle east meddlings.
    All he does is troll here, unless it's about Catholicism.

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Desmond View Post
    I just finished listening to this video defending monarchies.


    In it he refers to the French Revolusion as "filthy". So, is he right? Was it "filthy" or would it be more accurate to describe monarchies as filthy?

    "Therefore, if it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings....I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you....Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you. For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!" - Mosiah 29:13-17, The Book of Mormon.

    Monarchy like all governments are only as good as the people that are a part of them. Monarchies grow corrupt when the people become corrupt. They allow wicked rulers who abuse their power, corrupt the people further, and are hard to remove without bloodshed and destruction, something else Mosiah warns about. (Mosiah 29: 21-23) Its why the "Glorious Revolution" is such a singular moment in history.

    And to be clear, historically, the French Monarchy was just as bad as the Reign of Terror. It starved the populace, imprisoned the innocent, allowed the guilty to go free, and murdered whoever it pleased under whatever trumped up charges it saw fit to invent. The irony is that the Emperor Napoleon brought more freedoms to the people than the former monarchy or the revolution did.
    Last edited by PierzStyx; 02-13-2014 at 09:38 PM.

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by green73 View Post
    All he does is troll here, unless it's about Catholicism.
    That's pretty harsh. You seem to have a very low opinion of me lately. Did I do something to hurt your feelings?

  15. #13
    Was the French Revolution a good thing or a bad thing?

    Depends on whether or not your name is Marie Antoinette. The whole thing pretty well sucked for her and her hubby.








  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by eduardo89 View Post
    That's pretty harsh. You seem to have a very low opinion of me lately. Did I do something to hurt your feelings?
    I thought you were a proud troller. Did I miss something?

  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    It may depend on whether you were a French aristocrat or not.
    Which, I think, was replaced with the French bureaucrat.
    Last edited by Henry Rogue; 02-14-2014 at 11:00 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by BuddyRey View Post
    Do you think it's a coincidence that the most cherished standard of the Ron Paul campaign was a sign highlighting the word "love" inside the word "revolution"? A revolution not based on love is a revolution doomed to failure. So, at the risk of sounding corny, I just wanted to let you know that, wherever you stand on any of these hot-button issues, and even if we might have exchanged bitter words or harsh sentiments in the past, I love each and every one of you - no exceptions!

    "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Frederic Bastiat

    Peace.

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by eduardo89 View Post
    That's pretty harsh. You seem to have a very low opinion of me lately. Did I do something to hurt your feelings?
    What I want to know is: Did the wedding happen yet? Are you now happily married?



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Henry Rogue View Post
    Which, I think, was replaced with the French bearocrat.
    Are those the ones wearing the funny little hats and riding bicycles in the circus?

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Desmond View Post
    I just finished listening to this video defending monarchies.


    In it he refers to the French Revolusion as "filthy". So, is he right? Was it "filthy" or would it be more accurate to describe monarchies as filthy?
    Just finished watching the video. I take every opportunity to criticize democracy and promote the individual, having typed that, the guy in the video has some real twisted logic, which result in absurd conclusions.
    Quote Originally Posted by BuddyRey View Post
    Do you think it's a coincidence that the most cherished standard of the Ron Paul campaign was a sign highlighting the word "love" inside the word "revolution"? A revolution not based on love is a revolution doomed to failure. So, at the risk of sounding corny, I just wanted to let you know that, wherever you stand on any of these hot-button issues, and even if we might have exchanged bitter words or harsh sentiments in the past, I love each and every one of you - no exceptions!

    "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Frederic Bastiat

    Peace.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    Are those the ones wearing the funny little hats and riding bicycles in the circus?
    Yes, thats right. I hate this tablet.
    Quote Originally Posted by BuddyRey View Post
    Do you think it's a coincidence that the most cherished standard of the Ron Paul campaign was a sign highlighting the word "love" inside the word "revolution"? A revolution not based on love is a revolution doomed to failure. So, at the risk of sounding corny, I just wanted to let you know that, wherever you stand on any of these hot-button issues, and even if we might have exchanged bitter words or harsh sentiments in the past, I love each and every one of you - no exceptions!

    "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Frederic Bastiat

    Peace.

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Henry Rogue View Post
    Yes, thats right. I hate this tablet.
    Well at least it's seems to be a pretty good source of amusement.

  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    Well at least it's seems to be a pretty good source of amusement.
    Always happy to entertain.
    Quote Originally Posted by BuddyRey View Post
    Do you think it's a coincidence that the most cherished standard of the Ron Paul campaign was a sign highlighting the word "love" inside the word "revolution"? A revolution not based on love is a revolution doomed to failure. So, at the risk of sounding corny, I just wanted to let you know that, wherever you stand on any of these hot-button issues, and even if we might have exchanged bitter words or harsh sentiments in the past, I love each and every one of you - no exceptions!

    "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Frederic Bastiat

    Peace.

  25. #22
    I created a thread touching on this topic, but a certain mod who is no longer with us, froze the thread and gave me warning.

  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Bastiat's The Law View Post
    I created a thread touching on this topic, but a certain mod who is no longer with us, froze the thread and gave me warning.
    Link?
    Quote Originally Posted by BuddyRey View Post
    Do you think it's a coincidence that the most cherished standard of the Ron Paul campaign was a sign highlighting the word "love" inside the word "revolution"? A revolution not based on love is a revolution doomed to failure. So, at the risk of sounding corny, I just wanted to let you know that, wherever you stand on any of these hot-button issues, and even if we might have exchanged bitter words or harsh sentiments in the past, I love each and every one of you - no exceptions!

    "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Frederic Bastiat

    Peace.

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by KCIndy View Post
    Depends on whether or not your name is Marie Antoinette. The whole thing pretty well sucked for her and her hubby.
    Robespierre, too, in the end. (The guillotine cuts both ways ...)

    Quote Originally Posted by Bastiat's The Law View Post
    I created a thread touching on this topic, but a certain mod who is no longer with us, froze the thread and gave me warning.
    Your thread wasn't about whether the French Revolution was "good" or "bad" (whatever that might mean).
    You used the FR as a provocatively divisive metaphor in order to fan the flames of our internecine squabbles.
    The Bastiat Collection · FREE PDF · FREE EPUB · PAPER
    Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850)

    • "When law and morality are in contradiction to each other, the citizen finds himself in the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense, or of losing his respect for the law."
      -- The Law (p. 54)
    • "Government is that great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
      -- Government (p. 99)
    • "[W]ar is always begun in the interest of the few, and at the expense of the many."
      -- Economic Sophisms - Second Series (p. 312)
    • "There are two principles that can never be reconciled - Liberty and Constraint."
      -- Harmonies of Political Economy - Book One (p. 447)

    · tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito ·



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Occam's Banana View Post
    French Revolution..."good" or "bad" (whatever that might mean).
    Good or bad in relation to how the guy in the video is portraying it, its effect or impact on liberty (did it help or hurt it?), and maybe even the relevance of the American Revolution itself as an event that separated the original 13 colonies from a monarchy.



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