The French revolution reminds me of the current political situation in the US. The political spectrum was similarly polarized. They had a king who believed that he had absolute power and was answerable to no one. He had his group of ministers who were ready to do anything to support his policies and punish any one who opposed him. You had those who wanted to create in France a constitutional monarchy like that in England, but the king refused to listen to any of the opposition. This drove the opposition so far to the left that they began calling for the overthrow of the king and the establishment of a republic with no monarchy. The impasse between these two positions led directly to the French revolution with so much fracturing of political positions and demonizing of opponents that in the end both those from the extreme right (the monarchists) and the extreme left wound up on the guillotine. Very few of the leaders of the revolution survived. Something to consider…