Revolutionary politics between Enlightenment factions and their aftermath

Review essay on The Enlightenment that Failed: Ideas, Revolution, and Democratic Defeat, 1748–1830 by Jonathan Israel

Though the title is a blatant provocation – I guess “failed” is a more marketable title than “partially succeeded” – this is a rich intellectual history. It argues that the “radical” Enlightenment philosophes played a key role in the late 18^th century revolutions, losing out to the conservative reaction of the next century. The book is beautifully writt…