Hi, long time lurker here. I was speaking with my husband this morning, and we were comparing the way American Economics is now and the way it was (in France) leading up to the French Revolution. He didn't think they compared, and I did. In your educated opinions, do you believe the two could be compared? What would the differences be? What exactly were the stigmas leading to the Revolution?
Thanks!
The largest problem in comparing the French Revolution to the contemporary time is that the economics are completely different. The US is a very service based economy that relies on outsourced industry, a post industrial economic system. The French economy before the Revolution was agrarian with a little industry. So, from a pure economic standpoint, it's VERY difficult to compare the two and ineffective as the economics never compare effectively.
The real major aspects of the French Revolution have more to do with social and political rights compared to economics. The economics pushed the political Revolution.