A Tale of Three Revolutions

 

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 460 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon. A Tale of Three Revolutions (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

There is an extensive literature that compares and contrasts the American and French Revolutions, but a recent article by Patrick Estebe titled “A tale of Two Revolutions” made me think of the influence of those Revolutions in the Cuban Revolution of 1959. As an adolescent in pre 1959 Cuba, I remember studying extensively the French Revolution and the influence on that Revolution of Enlightenment philosophers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau. However, I do not recall my teachers discussing the American Revolution or the corresponding inspirational role of John Locke in the thinking of the Founders. I was puzzled as to whether this teaching disparity was due to my faulty memory, so I consulted with Dr. Eugenio Yañez and other learned colleagues. They reassured me that my memories were correct. In Cuban education, the French Revolution was emphasized and the American Revolution was not studied as a Revolution at all. It was mostly considered a war for independence of little worldwide sociopolitical intellectual consequence. Following the Cuban Revolution this neglect became more pronounced. In that “revolutionary” mindset, it became incongruous to refer to the American Revolution as a Revolution. The Yankees were imperialists and could not be studied as revolutionaries. It is impossible, in a short journalistic article, to do justice to the differences and similarities of the American and French Revolutions, but I will highlight some topics that serve my present purposes. Both of these revolutions were the product of Enlightenment ideals that emphasized natural rights and equality. Both were responses to oppressive monarchies that taxed heavily and sought to subjugate. Yet, they had very different outcomes. The French Revolution started as the United States Constitution was adopted in 1789 and leaders like the Marquis de Lafayette, who participated in both Revolutions, probably had a similar model of government for France in mind. The American Revolution was lead by practical concerns for representation. But it was anger, resulting from abuses by the ruling nobility and the clergy, which gave rise to the French Revolution. This anger, quickly turned to government by terror and ultimately to Napoleon’s rule. Consider what happened respectively to the organizers of the revolutions. Leaders of the French Revolution, like Maximilian Robespierre, instigated thousands of executions by guillotine including that of King Louis XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette during the “Reign of Terror.” Robespierre himself was later guillotined without trial. As for the leaders of the American Revolution, only one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence died a violent death. That death, totally unrelated to the Revolution, was Alexander Hamilton who died in a duel with Aaron Burr. In fact, most of the American revolutionaries were honored after the Revolution and some, like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, lived long lives of public service. The American Revolution was philosophically grounded on rights to “life, liberty, and property.” It promoted constitutionalism and limited government as articulated by John Locke. On the other hand, the French Revolution was influenced by the philosophy of Rousseau. Rousseau’s ideas ultimately lead to a government of absolute power and complete control over society. The French struggle for “liberty, equality, and fraternity”, is self-contradictory. Government imposed equality is inconsistent with liberty. The American Revolution engendered a “Bill of Rights” to protect individual freedoms. The French Revolution produced a very different document in the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen,” which, although advancing basic rights, conceives the absolute power of the state. Its third article reads: “The principle of any sovereignty resides essentially in the Nation. No group, no individual can exert authority which does not emanate expressly from it.” Now, the Cuban Revolution has nothing to do with the civility, democratic values, and defense of private property of the American Revolution. The Cuban Revolution has much more in common with the anger of the French Revolution as exemplified by the thousands of firing squad executions following 1959, and its single party totalitarian rule. And I am left to wonder if there is a cause and effect relationship in the governments we end up with, and the tales we tell of these three revolutions. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now