Not even the term “rationalism” can manage to sever itself from the Soviet Union. Both the French Revolution and the Communist Revolution were genuine bastard children of the Enlightenment—missing what we would now regard as some key elements, yes, turning into pure power plays as they spiraled downward, but way back at the dawn of time they both started in, metaphorically speaking, the coffeeshops of Oxford.
Not even the term “rationalism” can manage to sever itself from the Soviet Union. Both the French Revolution and the Communist Revolution were genuine bastard children of the Enlightenment—missing what we would now regard as some key elements, yes, turning into pure power plays as they spiraled downward, but way back at the dawn of time they both started in, metaphorically speaking, the coffeeshops of Oxford.