The French Revolution and Modern Political Ideologies

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The French Revolution had a great impact on modern day politics and the ideologies that have become common knowledge among society. When France was reconstructing their government in the 1790's, many of the changes inspired how politics has established itself in today's world. The French Revolution was significant in sweeping away monarchical absolutism in the name of the modern ideas of 'liberty, equality, and fraternity'. The French society, as well as other European societies, were going through many cultural and social changes and were developing more intellectual thoughts for the time. Ideologies of liberalism, socialism, and conservatism, were beginning to appear in all aspects of European life, especially in France. The creation of the National Assembly is an example of how these new ideologies affected how France was governed. France realized the necessity to instil thoughts of equality into its people to ensure a long-lasting government. The Third Estate showed many aspects of liberalism in their campaign to create a more equal government. The National Assembly sought to pursue a policy of constitutional monarchy, which is an aspect of modern day liberalism. Liberals believe in limited government and democracy, the belief that a government should be accountable to their people. Eighteenth-century liberals believed that these two elements would minimize the role of the government and maximize the personal freedoms of the government's people. They believed that the economy should be controlled by the people, instead of under the strict control of the government. This idea was created by Adam Smith and was labelled as laissez-faire. Liberals were also looking to change the clericalism of the Church and entrench ideas of religious freedom on France.

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