Barzun sees the religious, monarchical, liberal and collectivist revolutions as a chain reaction triggered by increasing demands for individual rights. The revolutions of the late 18th century converted subjects into citizens, and Marx sought to turn political equality into economic equality. That is the canopy that Barzun erects over his luxuriant garden of ideas and aphorisms. Most of all, Barzun wants to judge the present generation, and he finds us sadly lacking. The forms of art as of life seem exhausted, the stages of development have been run through.
Institutions function painfully.
Repetition and frustration are the intolerable result. Boredom and fatigue are great historical forces. This vision, outlined in the sketchiest section of the book, only appears persuasive because of a trick of perspective. Similarly, greatness in art, itself a mutable designation, is determined by later generations.