In The Age of Revolution, renowned British Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm focuses on the historical period from the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th. He concludes that the "dual revolutions" of the time - the French Revolution and the British Industrial Revolution - changed the way the whole world thought about politics and power, and fundamentally shaped the modern era.

This is the first in Hobsbawm's acclaimed trilogy of books on the "long" 19th century - from 1789 to 1914. In The Age of Revolution he explains how the dual revolutions created conditions in which capitalism and liberalism could rise and dominate. But while values such as liberty, free trade, and meritocracy led to the formation of the middle class, this leap forward largely excluded the urban, laboring poor, resulting in the emergence of socialism and the working class.

Although now over 50 years old, the text remains a superb introduction to modern history and has been read by millions worldwide.

You can find out more about how Hobsbawm's ideas have been challenged and applied - and how his work has impacted on thinkers in other academic disciplines - by exploring further in the Macat Library.

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