Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > Revolutions & coups
|
Not currently available
The Gods of Revolution (Paperback)
Loot Price: R613
Discovery Miles 6 130
|
|
The Gods of Revolution (Paperback)
Series: Works of Christopher Dawson
Supplier out of stock. If you add this item to your wish list we will let you know when it becomes available.
|
In The Gods of Revolution, Christopher Dawson brought to bear, as
Glanmor Williams said, "his brilliantly perceptive powers of
analysis on the French Revolution. . . . In so doing he reversed
the trends of recent historiography which has concentrated
primarily on examining the social and economic context of that
great upheaval." Dawson underlines the fact that the Revolution was
not animated by democratic ideals but rather reflected an
authoritarian liberalism often marked by a fundamental contempt for
the populace, described by Voltaire as "the `canaille' that is not
worthy of enlightenment and which deserves its yoke." The old
Christian order had stressed a common faith and common service
shared by nobles and peasants alike but Rousseau"pleads the cause
of the individual against society, the poor against the rich, and
the people against the privileged classes." It is Rousseau whom
Dawson describes as the spiritual father of the new age in
disclosing a new spirit of revolutionary idealism expressed in
liberalism, socialism and anarchism. But the old unity was not
replaced by a new form. Dawson insists the whole period following
the Revolution is "characterized by a continual struggle between
conflicting ideologies," and the periods of relative stabilization
such as the Napoleonic restoration, Victorian liberalism in
England, and capitalist imperialism in the second German empire
"have been compromises or temporary truces between two periods of
conquest." This leads to his assertion that "the survival of
westernculture demands unity as well as freedom, and the great
problem of our time is how these two essentials are to be
reconciled." This reconciliation will require more than
technological e"fficiency for "a free society requires a higher
degree of spiritual unity than a totalitarian one. Hence the
spiritual integration of western culture is essential to its
temporal survival." It is to Christianity alone that western
culture "must look for leadership and help in restoring the moral
and spiritual unity of our civilization," for it alone has the
influence, "in ethics, in education, in literature, and in social
action" su"ciently strong to achieve this end.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.