The American Revolution vs. the French Revolution

A Comparison [The Daily Reckoning] July 03, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The American Revolution vs. the French Revolution - What was the French Revolution’s impact on the world?… - The American Revolution: “a revolution not made but prevented”… - France resets the calendar to “Year Zero”… [[LEAKED MEMO] AI Opportunity]( [Click here for more...]( A leaked memo from Google on AI could prove that it's the biggest opportunity of the decade. Silicon Valley insider, James Altucher, shows that a tiny AI company could be in the crosshairs of major NASDAQ players — and a buyout deal could be announced at any moment. And if you don’t get in this stock before a potential deal is announced... You’ll miss out for good. Take a look at this research, and this urgent buy alert, before it’s too late. [Click Here Now]( Annapolis, Maryland [Brian Maher] BRIAN MAHER Dear Reader, The setting: Beijing, 1971. The characters: United States National Security Advisor Hank Kissinger and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. They are discussing diplomacy. At one point a pause broke their conversation. Mr. Kissinger then solicited his host’s estimate of the French Revolution’s impact upon the world. “Too early to say,” came the response. Premier Zhou was likely referring to the 1968 student agitations in Paris. But let us proceed under the cover of myth… and report on the progress of the 1789 revolution. Is it too early yet to pronounce verdict upon the French Revolution? That is the question we take up today — and tomorrow. On July 14, 1989 the Paris rabble besieged the Bastille fortress-prison… in quest of arms to raise against King Louis XVI. The French Revolution tailed the American Revolution — so called. Each revolution undid a king. The French revolutionaries pulled old Louis from his throne at Versailles. They later introduced him to Monsieur Guillotin’s toy. An ocean spared George III the blade or the noose, yes. But the American colonists struck the trans-Atlantic chains that had previously bound them. Each revolution represented a blow against kingship, it is true. Yet each drew from different aspirations. Was the American Revolution Really a Revolution? Before proceeding, a note: We paint today in bright colors, with a brush that is necessarily wide. That is, we omit much of the subtlety, much of the shade and shadow of the full historical portrait. Yet in the overall view... the French revolutionists were out to end the Ancient Regime that sat upon them. That was the old throne and altar social and political system of the Bourbon kings. The American revolutionists — meantime — were out to reclaim the ancient rights of Englishmen. It was these rights that George III was chewing into and molesting… as they saw it. The American revolutionists were not out for revolution — but a sort of reset, as a man resets an erring grandfather clock, or a wayward thermostat. They did not seek change, that is — but to stay largely the same. Did they qualify then as revolutionaries? [Download My New Survival Guide Today!]( I’ve created a BRAND-NEW “2023 Crisis Survival Guide” that I’m making available to all of my Strategic Intelligence readers today. This short 54-page document has everything you need to know to protect yourself and your family in times of crisis. Things like what foods to stock up on now, staying safe during periods of rioting and looting and more. Inside I break down all of the coming threats you face and how to prepare. [Click Here To Download Your Copy Now]( Enlightenment statesman Edmund Burke labeled England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 “a revolution not made but prevented.” The same may be said — the same has been said — of the American Revolution. It was in many respects a revolution not made but a revolution prevented. You Need Form in Order to Reform The American revolutionists pursued reform, it is true. Yet reform has no existence without preexisting form. The form is first, there in its three dimensions. It has bulk. It is solid. Reform chisels it, sands it, paints it, renews it. Importantly, reform does not wreck it. It is true to the underlying form. The Americans had their preexisting form: their British cultural and political heritage. They clung to the Magna Carta and the ancient rights of Englishmen. They modified, updated and molded the existing form into a new American shape. That is, they kept the old and good. They cut away the old and diseased. That is… they reformed. The French Revolution Yet the French revolutionists did not reform. They proceeded with axes, hacksaws, sledgehammers, wrecking balls… They razed all prior social, cultural, religious and political forms. All structures came down, all bridges to the past. Nothing remained to reform. The revolutionists threw aside their “political servitude,” argued Burke — but at the price of their souls. That is because they likewise threw aside the “yoke of laws and morals” that had bound them to Christian virtue. They deformed society… rather than reforming society. From one summary of Burke’s 1790 Reflections on the Revolution in France: The French Revolution... was tending towards anarchy rather than reformation. Burke valued tradition and the structures that had built up over time rather than the shattering of state, culture and religion that had taken place in France. These French revolutionists had no past, as stated. They had only a future. Do we misstate or stretch the facts? We do not. It is literal truth. Redrawing Time In 1792, French revolutionists emptied the existing calendar into the wastebasket… and tacked up a new calendar… beginning at “Year One.” All twelve months of the calendar were rechristened, primarily after the rhythms of nature. The months themselves were broken into three weeks, each consisting of ten days. Each day — in turn — was reduced to ten hours under a decimal system. One new hour counted 144 miniatures or 2.4 times the old hour. Churches, meatime, were reconfigured as “temples of reason.” [Over 62 And Collect Social Security? Take Action Immediately!]( [Click here for more...]( If you’re over the age of 62 and currently collect Social Security, you need to prepare now. Because Biden has given our country the worst inflation in decades – and many warn things will only get worse from here. Worse yet, the Social Security check you receive now may not keep pace with inflation… Which is why, if you don’t act now, you could fall behind in the months ahead. Is your retirement at immediate risk? [Click Here To Find Out]( All traces of religion and the Church were cleared out, all holy days stricken out. Libertarian writer, Mr. Lew Rockwell: Streets named after saints were given new names, and statues of saints were actually guillotined... The calendar itself, rich with religious feasts, was replaced by a more “rational” calendar with 30 days per month, divided into three ten-day weeks, thereby doing away with Sunday. The remaining five days of the year were devoted to secular observances: celebrations of labor, opinion, genius, virtue, and rewards… People were sentenced to death for owning a Rosary, giving shelter to a priest, or indeed refusing to abjure the priesthood. Now you have the flavor of it. Imagine it — a lunatic nation dynamiting its past foundations — and beginning anew at Year One. How does a man know his age… or celebrate his birthday? The Democracy of the Dead The revolutionists, argued Burke, lowered their axes upon what Lincoln later labeled the “chords of memory.” These are the chords of memory that link past to present, past and present to future. In this democracy of the dead, the dead are granted a vote. Yay, nay or present… they have a say in a nation’s doings. The French revolutionaries stripped the dead of their vote. They replaced it with the tyranny of the living. And the unborn would never learn the wisdom of the ancient ones. In Burke’s telling: As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born. The French revolutionists may have struck the old shackles from their wrists. But they merely exchanged them for new shackles. Regards, [Brian Maher] Brian Maher Managing Editor, The Daily Reckoning [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) Editor’s note: If you are worried about the U.S. dollar… And you want to protect yourself before the first-ever dollar “reset” strikes — [potentially as soon as tomorrow…]( Then we strongly urge you to watch [this urgent video Jim Rickards recorded right away.]( That’s because Jim believes it’s time to prepare for a dollar panic that’ll live in infamy in American history. Not on some far-off day in the future…but possibly within the next 24 hours. [Watch now: Jim’s full warning in this emergency broadcast from outside the White House.]( Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) [Brian Maher] [Brian Maher]( is the Daily Reckoning's Managing Editor. Before signing on to Agora Financial, he was an independent researcher and writer who covered economics, politics and international affairs. His work has appeared in the Asia Times and other news outlets around the world. He holds a Master's degree in Defense & Strategic Studies. [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your The Daily Reckoning e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from The Daily Reckoning, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@dailyreckoning.com. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. 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