The French Revolution saw the invention of a new political system for France, that of modern participatory politics, with an elected legislature, political clubs, and a free press. For the first time France had politicians – answerable not to one man, but to public opinion and to the ‘people’. On the face of it conspiracy […]
Since the time of the abbé Barruel, the French Revolution – the source of democratic claims eventually the world over – has been unmasked as the outcome of a dark conspiracy. This talk examines some of the contemporary legacies of this claim about the secret agenda of democratic self-rule, with a focus on some famous […]
Reflections on the lecture given on 10 June, 2014 by Prof. Samuel Moyn (Columbia): “Is Democracy Conspiratorial?” In the research literature one often comes across the statement that every conspiracy theory contains a grain of truth. Indeed, one finds the statement repeated so often that it has taken on the trappings of a tired platitude. […]