12 - The King Is Dead, Now What? The 250-Year Struggle for Democracy (Part 1)
Human Nature Odyssey
The Evolution of Democracy
This chapter examines the transition from monarchy to democracy, highlighting the significance of the French Revolution in empowering citizens. It discusses the complexities of political ideologies and the challenges of understanding modern electoral dynamics through a simplistic left-right framework.
How many people are happy with the way society is headed? There seems to be a general consensus - maybe the one thing we all agree on - that things are not right.
But our different opinions on what’s wrong and what directions could be better too often fall on either side of a left vs right political spectrum.
Where did we get this idea of a left wing and a right wing anyway? How is it in a world of such diversity of languages and traditions and religions there’s just two freakin’ wings? What are we, a bird?
Well, it all started… during the French Revolution. And if we want to expand our map and chart a better direction, that’s where our story needs to begin.
In this episode, we journey back to the French Revolution, where revolutionaries and monarchists first split into left and right wings—and the world has never been the same. Out of the chaos emerged ideals of liberty, the terror in the streets, and a fierce battle of ideas that spread across Europe, sparking revolutions from Sicily to Poland. The 1848 uprisings shook monarchies to their core, as liberals, conservatives, and radicals fought over society’s future. Most of the revolutions were crushed—but none left the world unchanged.
Join us for a deep dive into political ideologies, French accents, guillotines, and the struggle for democracy.
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CITATIONS
Websites and Articles
Britannica. France: Peasant Insurgencies.
Yale University Library. French Revolution Political Cartoons: The Guillotine.
Fine Dining Lovers. 2022. “Dining with King Louis XVI.”
Chastain, James. The Two Sicilies. Ohio University.
Statista. 2024. Global Elections in 2024.
Hincks, Joseph. 2024. “More Voters Than Ever Will Vote in 2024.” TIME.
Reuters. 2024. “What Are the Key Issues in Mozambique’s 2024 Elections?”
World History Encyclopedia. French Republican Calendar.
Britannica. Reign of Terror.
Prothero, Stephen. 2016. “Culture War Is an American Tradition.” Los Angeles Times, February 14.
Chastain, James. The European Revolutions of 1848 and 1989: A Comparative Analysis.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. “Speech to the French Chamber of Deputies, January 29, 1848.” Speeches USA.
Books
Arasse, Daniel. 1987. The Guillotine and the Terror.
Bussiek, Dagmar. 2002. Mit Gott für König und Vaterland: Die Neue Preußische Zeitung (Kreuzzeitung) 1848–1892. Münster: LIT Verlag, p. 18.
Clark, Christopher. 2023. Revolutionary Spring: Europe Aflame and the Fight for a New World.
Kirchner, Emil J. 1988. Liberal Parties in Western Europe.
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. 1848. The Communist Manifesto.
Terwecoren, Edouard. 1870. Collection de Précis historiques. J. Vandereydt, p. 31.
Podcasts and YouTube
The Rest Is History. 2023. “The Year of Revolutions: 1848.” Podcast audio, April 30, 2023.
Duncan, Mike. Revolutions podcast season 7
Green, John. Crash Course: European History #26. YouTube playlist.
Additional Music
Track: Symphony no. 41 in C 'Jupiter', K. 551 - I. Allegro vivace
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Music: Celestial Soda Pop
By: Ray Lynch
From the album: Deep Breakfast
Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI
All rights reserved.
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3. Spotify:
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