The French Revolution was the "big bang" out of which all the elements of modern politics and social conflicts were formed. Democracy, populism, liberalism, conservatism, socialism, nationalism, feminism, abolitionism, and "enlightened" imperialism are heir to the momentous upheaval that began in Paris in 1789. To some, the French Revolution might seem only a distant memory of a middle-sized country, but as esteemed historian Jeremy Popkin demonstrates in A New World Begins, the principles of the French Revolution remain the only possible basis for a just society -- even if, after more than two hundred years, these ideals have not been realized and are still often contested.
