The French Revolution and the Terror

The Revolution that France went through in the 18th century proved to the world that even wealthy nations with historically strong monarchies can be influenced and threatened by the lower classes. This topic, although concerning the late 18th century, has tremendous relevance even today for we live in an age where sometimes a minority still rules over a majority. The differences between the two might be political, social or economic and in some cases all …

…the oppressors. This argument does not ultimately hold strong when one considers there have been revolutions in which terror was not a factor such as in Romania, the Former Yugoslavia and several others. In conclusion, the theory of Jacques Furet sounds very plausible because it argues simply that the violence that was evident in the revolution was the product of man's need to control power even when he has struggled to disengage himself from it.