Across western democracies, upheavals in the US are prompting a startling realignment of ideas and of parties (Except post-national Canada)
One of the fascinating aspects of the French Revolution, as one convulsion after another swept France in the 1790s, was that it transformed the politics of other countries too.
Like the US today, France was, until then, seen as both the most powerful of all nations and the great upholder of the established order. The dramatic overturning of that order created admirers and enemies all over Europe with a profound effect on politics for generations: in Britain it broke the Whig party, led to Edmund Burke’s defining of conservatism and spurred the industrial and military prowess with which an enormous empire would be governed. Its effect on ideas — such as the whole concept of left and right wings in politics — endures today.
.@POTUS: “Canada was meant to be the 51st state — because we subsidize Canada by $200 billion/year.” pic.twitter.com/uAnPSSXPXO
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 19, 2025
h/t DS
