On Revolution

work by Arendt

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July 15, 2026

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Hannah Arendt's On Revolution (1963) examines the concept of revolution, distinguishing between the American and French revolutions. Arendt contrasts the American Revolution's focus on liberty with the French Revolution's pursuit of social freedom, arguing that the latter led to terror and tyranny. She emphasizes the importance of founding new political structures and the role of public freedom in a stable republic. Arendt's work explores the conditions necessary for successful revolutions and the challenges of maintaining them, drawing on historical examples to analyze the nature of political action and the pursuit of liberty.12

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Hannah Arendt
…Between Past and Future (1961), On Revolution (1963), Men in Dark Times (1968), On Violence (1970), and Crises of the Republic (1972). Her unfinished manuscript The Life of the Mind was edited by her friend and correspondent Mary McCarthy and published in 1978. Responsibility and Judgment, published in 2003, collects…
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…Between Past and Future (1961), On Revolution (1963), Men in Dark Times (1968), On Violence (1970), and Crises of the Republic (1972). Her unfinished manuscript The Life of the Mind was edited by her friend and correspondent Mary McCarthy and published in 1978. Responsibility and Judgment, published in 2003, collects…
Read More