This sort of thing is not everyone's cup of tea but this stuff of abiding interest for me.
The always excellent "Investor's Business Daily" is offering a series of articles discussing the French Revolution as the first of its kind in the modern age. The Revolution incorporated all the elements of what we observed (to our regret) in the 20th Century, including the mindless violence which followed (to be repeated in even worse form in Russia, China, Cambodia, etc.)
This particular piece deals with the Father of it all, the morally and intellectually deficient Jean Jacques Rousseau who, despite his own multiple shortcomings, became the harbinger of a new age.
The Rebellious Rousseau: Grand Pere Of Propaganda
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/072313-664837-the-rebellious-rousseau-grand-pere-of-propaganda.htm?p=fullAs a side note, the writer, Monica Showalter, mentions as one of her sources, Paul Johnson who wrote "Intellectuals", a work which includes a chapter on Rousseau; and a work I highly recommend as it documents the fraudulent and hypocritical personae of a number of leading figures in the modern age.
This piece on Rousseau is the second in a series and can be found here:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/072313-664837-the-rebellious-rousseau-grand-pere-of-propaganda.htm?p=fulldsThe opening of the series, if you are like me and want to do it in order,
France's Revolution: An Orgy Of Symbolism And Spectacle
,
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/071213-663594-french-revolution-propaganda-shaped-the-france-to-come.htmI chose to do a slight edit in order to add an observation from the first article whose truth cannot be overstated:
The French Revolution was a font of bad ideas whose effects spread through efforts of the modern left.
