Role of Ideas in the French and Russian Revolutions
Word Count: 1511
How important was the role of ideas in the outbreak of revolution?
When comparing the French Revolution of 1789 and Russian October Revolution of 1917, a series of parallels become evident. Both revolutionary groups became determined with an extensive emergence of new ideas, which captured a strong majority of the respective populations. The importance of the ideas was critical to maintaining a drive for the revolutions considering they acted as a manifestation of what the public and the politicians wanted for change. The primary ideas that evolved out of the outbreak of revolution revolved around the Enlightenment, political ideologies, propaganda and human rights. The momentous significance and importance of these ideas is evident through their extensive support and the events that put them into practice.
The Enlightenment Age affected the French and Russian revolutions in the sense that it ignited the new ways of thinking and the development of ideas. The Enlightenment was a period of increased interest in learning, logic, rationality and the re-examination of traditional beliefs. During the French Revolution, enlightenment philosophers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau were rendered pioneers of thinking, thus impacting the public significantly with their ideas that questioned the validity of the ‘Divine Right’ and the Church. Voltaire was a particularly influential figure as due to his prolific status he was able to spread further ideas by advocating civil liberties, freedom of religion, free trade and the illogicality of the church. The intellectual movement was able to gain momentum in followers as the Third Estate were progressively becoming displeased with ‘Ancien Regime’ so the questioning of the King’s rights became appealing. The Enlightenment is comparable to similar theme within the Russian Revolution, however to a smaller extent and is often tied in with an intellectual culture termed Intelligentsia. The ideas that
How important was the role of ideas in the outbreak of revolution?
When comparing the French Revolution of 1789 and Russian October Revolution of 1917, a series of parallels become evident. Both revolutionary groups became determined with an extensive emergence of new ideas, which captured a strong majority of the respective populations. The importance of the ideas was critical to maintaining a drive for the revolutions considering they acted as a manifestation of what the public and the politicians wanted for change. The primary ideas that evolved out of the outbreak of revolution revolved around the Enlightenment, political ideologies, propaganda and human rights. The momentous significance and importance of these ideas is evident through their extensive support and the events that put them into practice.
The Enlightenment Age affected the French and Russian revolutions in the sense that it ignited the new ways of thinking and the development of ideas. The Enlightenment was a period of increased interest in learning, logic, rationality and the re-examination of traditional beliefs. During the French Revolution, enlightenment philosophers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau were rendered pioneers of thinking, thus impacting the public significantly with their ideas that questioned the validity of the ‘Divine Right’ and the Church. Voltaire was a particularly influential figure as due to his prolific status he was able to spread further ideas by advocating civil liberties, freedom of religion, free trade and the illogicality of the church. The intellectual movement was able to gain momentum in followers as the Third Estate were progressively becoming displeased with ‘Ancien Regime’ so the questioning of the King’s rights became appealing. The Enlightenment is comparable to similar theme within the Russian Revolution, however to a smaller extent and is often tied in with an intellectual culture termed Intelligentsia. The ideas that
Bibliography: http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/125386/the_french_revolution_new_ideas_and.html http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/attack.html