The French Revolution as a World-Historical Event

The significance or importance of the French Revolution has usually been analyzed in one of two ways: as an “event” in French history which has its course and consequences; or as a phenomenon that had a specific influence on the history of other countries. I wish in this chapter however to view the French Revolution as a world-historical event in the very specific sense of its significance and importance in the history of the modern world system as a world system. As we know, the literature on the French Revolution of the last thirty years has reflected a gigantic intellectual