Tuesday, February 16, 2016

In "The Discourse on the Love of Country, 1789" What is the point of view of the author?

In this pamphlet, Richard Price expresses an interesting point of view in support of the French Revolution, which was taking place at the time of his writing. He states that patriotism should mean the love of one's country in its ideal form—that is, love of one's own communities and ideals. If a citizen believes that his country is being oppressed by a tyrannical government, or one whose beliefs and laws are immoral and out of step with the nation's "natural" beliefs and ideals, it is in fact the duty of that citizen to educate his fellows and encourage them to rise up and rebel. In Price's view, it would in fact be unpatriotic to allow an immoral government to oppress one's people. Therefore, he feels that the French Revolution is justified precisely because the actions of the French monarchy were unjustified, and that those driving the revolution are true patriots.

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