Grass has grown over them all

Did the revolutions of 1848 fail?

FOR THE NEW REPUBLIC, I reviewed the eminent Christopher Clark’s book on the radical upsurges of 1848. Did they revolution fail of its own accord, or was it killed with overwhelming, finessing violence?

Defeat, however stinging, can be revelatory. Liberals found that 1848 exposed the vulnerability of their position (and of the concept of liberalism itse…