1.13 The French Revolution, The Storming of the Bastille, and Sowing the Seeds of Revolution

The foundation of Gramsci’s ideas about cultural hegemony are grounded in the French Revolution. Before the Revolution no one could have predicted it. No one believed it was actually possible. According to Gramsci it happened because the Enlightenment created a vision of a better world. The French people stormed the Bastille because the National Convention made the impossible seem possible. Before the National Convention a French Republic was impossible. After the National Convention made the impossible possible, the French Republic became historically predetermined. The King did not realize it yet, but his resistance to the French Republic triggered the storming of the Bastille because the genie was out of the bottle. It was too late. The dream of the Enlightenment was now within reach. The king could not stop it. Show Notes “14 July” July 15, 1916 Avanti! Selections from Political Writings, 1910-1920 - [ ] Background - [ ] 1789 - [ ] 1790 - [ ] 1791-1792 - [ ] 1793 - [ ] 1794 - [ ] Gramsci’s Article - [ ] Postscript Storming of the Bastille https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille the French Revolution https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution The Dig podcast on Occupy Wall Street with Astra Taylor https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dig/id1043245989?i=1000536617311 Black Lives Matter George Floyd Protests: 15-26 million https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd_protests