Douglas Macgregor From the vantage point of 21st-century Washington, DC, the French Revolution of 1789 may seem a distant historical event. Yet its lessons remain profoundly relevant. Even astute contemporaries like Benjamin Franklin and Frederick the Great failed to foresee the upheaval that would reshape France and the world. This oversight reminds us that revolutions often arise from complex, sometimes subtle, social dynamics—chief among them, widespread public indignation toward a ruling class perceived as decadent, disconnected, and unaccountable. In 1789, much of the revolutionary fervor targeted the French aristocracy,…
