13 - The King Is Dead, Now What? The 250-Year Struggle for Democracy (Part 2)

In the The King Is Dead, Now What? we're exploring the history of the left / right political spectrum and the 250 year struggle for democracy.

In Part 1 we started telling the story that began with the French Revolution of 1789, when those in favor of monarchy sat on the right wing of the national assembly room and those in favor of revolution sat on the left wing. 

In the wake of the 1848 revolutions, the struggle between left and right gave rise to three major political ideologies—conservatism, liberalism, and radicalism—each offering a distinct vision for society. These competing forces would ignite a global struggle for power.

In this episode, we trace the ongoing clash between these ideologies, imagining them as bickering gods, each vying for control of the human realm. From the Russian Revolution and the collapse of monarchies after World War I to the rise of fascism, the global conflict of World War II, the Cold War standoff between the U.S. and Soviet Union, and the global youth protests of 1968, we explore how these powerful ideas collided, evolved, and continue to shape the struggle for power, equality, and freedom.

 

 

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Articles

Narewska, Elli. “Tsar Nicholas II Abdicates.” The Guardian, March 3, 2017.

Hoffmann, David L. "The October Revolution in Russia" Ohio State University Origins, 2017 “The Paris Riots of 1968, Part 1.” CBC Radio, April 24, 2018.

Keats, Jonathon. “Design of Dissent.” Forbes, October 28, 2019.

Baker, Peter. “CIA Helped Arrest Mandela.” Time, February 2023.

 

Statista. 2022. “Second World War: Share of Total Population Loss.” BBC Bitesize. “The Vietnam War: Casualty Statistics.” U.S. National Archives. “Vietnam War Casualty Statistics.” ECPAT International. “How Many Vietnamese Died in the Vietnam War.” Horner, Sam. “The Birth of the Soviet Union and the Death of the Russian Revolution.” JSTOR Daily, 2021.

YouTube

“Days That Shook The World: Russia's Two Revolutions of 1917” Epic History. Mar 8, 2022

Films

Jojo Rabbit. 2019. Directed by Taika Waititi.

 

Music: Celestial Soda Pop

By: Ray Lynch

From the album: Deep Breakfast

Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI 

All rights reserved.