Part 3, Introduction, Sections 1 and 2 Summary and Analysis

"Historical Rebellion"

The author introduces this section by contending that "every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being ..." while revolution, grounded in violence and ultimately in murder, is the continuation of an endless cycle - the transfer of power from one form of government to another (see "Quotes," p. 106). The suggestion here is that revolution doesn't always spring from rebellion's desire to better humanity's lot, but from a simple desire for power.

"The Regicides"

The author begins his analysis of the process of authority's breakdown (a necessary aspect of revolution) with an examination of the origins of the French Revolution in 1789. He writes that that was "the starting-point of modern times, because the men of that period wished, among other things, to overthrow the principle of...