Dual Revolution
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The dual revolution was a term first coined by
Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (''Th ...
. It refers specifically to the time period between 1789 and 1848 in which the political and ideological changes of the French Revolution fused with and reinforced the technological and economic changes of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. The French Revolution, inspired by the ideals of Enlightenment philosophy, spread ideas of
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
,
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
, and
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
. These political ideas were fused with the new technological advances of the industrial revolution such as the
spinning jenny The spinning jenny is a multi- spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialisation of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764–1765 by James Hargreaves in Stan ...
,
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
s, and the puddling process. With the defeat of the French Revolution and subsequently the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
,
Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a Germans, German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian ...
constructed a balance of power in Europe that would prevent one country from gaining too much power. This set the framework for a strong conservative, reactionary stance against the ideas of nationalism and liberalism spread by the dual revolution. The Holy Alliance, formed by Austria, Prussia and Russia in September 1815 became a symbol of oppression to the ideas spread by the dual revolution.


Industrial Revolution

Generally,
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
means transitioning from hand produced to machines. In the case of the dual revolution, the Industrial portion was more from social scientists like Count
Henri de Saint-Simon Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon (; ; 17 October 1760 – 19 May 1825), better known as Henri de Saint-Simon (), was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on po ...
, Charles Fourier, Louis Blanc, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, and Karl Marx who attempted to come up with ideas for “utopias”, conservative and socialist societies.


French Revolution

The French Revolution began in 1789 with the
Tennis Court Oath The Tennis Court Oath (, ) was taken on 20 June 1789 by the members of the French Estates General (France), Third Estate in a real tennis court on the initiative of Jean Joseph Mounier. Their vow "not to separate and to reassemble wherever nece ...
, by which the members of the third estate, who had been locked out of the meeting the estates general, gathered together and swore not to disband until they had written a new constitution. Inspired by the ideas of Enlightenment Philosophers, most prominently Rousseau and his social contract, the National assembly, those who had sworn the tennis court oath, published the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...
. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was very much an expression of Enlightenment ideals. A major portion of the Declaration was dedicated to the natural rights of man. According to the Declaration every man is entitled to life, liberty and property. This is a reflection of the beliefs of John Locke who wrote the 2nd treatise of civil government. The
Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...
, headed by
Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...
, which rose to power after using the sans culotte to imprison the other members of the
Jacobin club The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...
, was based on Rousseau's Social Contracts idea of the general will. Rousseau states that at times people have to sacrifice their natural rights for the greater good which is represented by the
General Will In political philosophy, the general will () is the will of the people as a whole. The term was made famous by 18th-century Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It can be considered as an early, informal predecessor to the idea of a social ...
. The General Will is not necessarily represented by the majority, a far-seeing minority can represent the general will. Robespierre believed that the Committee of Public Safety represented the general will. Robespierre used an aggressive revolutionary purge of those who opposed the Committee called the Terror, a planned economy, and French Nationalism inspired by the revolution to increase French military size and push armies into most of western Europe.


Nationalism

Nationalism was a driving force for European politics after the French revolution. The ideas of Nationalism emphasized both national pride and that each nation, which consists of a people of the same culture and language should coincide with the boundaries of the state. Metternich, the Austrian Chancellor, was conservative precisely because nationalism was very dangerous to the massive, multi-ethnic Austria. Increased national identity and pride garnered from the successes of ones country were another reason for increased European colonialism during the later parts of the 19th century.


Liberalism

Liberalism was a major movement post French Revolution. It was an expression of enlightenment ideals. Liberals believed in freedom of the press, freedom of speech, civil rights, fair elections, capitalism, freedom of religion and private property. Ideas of liberalism greatly influenced the 1848 revolutions which were led by students and the middle class.


Conservatism

Conservatism is based on traditional strategies like absolute monarchies. It is a reactionary stance against the ideas spread by the dual revolution. Conservatism is closely linked to Classicism.


See also

*
Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (''Th ...
* Long nineteenth century (1789-1914), another term popularized by Hobsbawm *'' The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848''


References

* {{cite book, last=Zanden, first=J. L. Van, title=The Long Road to the Industrial Revolution: The European Economy in a Global Perspective, 1000–1800, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Djqxy6VnOLIC&pg=PA12, year=2009, publisher=BRILL, isbn=978-90-04-17517-4, page=12 18th-century revolutions Historiography of the French Revolution Industrial Revolution