Week II: The Old Regime and the French Revolution
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"...when great revolutions are successful their causes cease to exist,
and the fact of their success has made them incomprehensible." |
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Week II Thoughts:
......Why Tocqueville again? Many of the theoretical insights you recall (hopefully)
from Democracy in America inform The Old Regime and the French Revolution. The argument that growing
equality is a key motor of political change remains central to Tocqueville's thinking, but in the context
of the French Revolution this claim takes on an entirely different meaning.
......Since this is a course in Political Science rather than French history, the
basic questions you should have in mind while reading involve fairly broad theories rather than the details of
his research. Think carefully about how Tocqueville describes the interaction of society and government, especially
in chapters 8-12 of Part II and Chapters 4 and 5 of Part III. Tocqueville has answers to some basic questions about
revolution, social change, the nature of the state, and the role of ideas, and we will be coming back to his arguments
in each of these areas as the semester progresses.
......But for purposes of this brief intro to your reading, let's start with how Tocqueville
(in the kind of convoluted, meandering sentence any of you will be penalized at least a full grade
for employing in your papers) describes his own task in writing the book:
"In the work I now present to the public my aim is, firstly, to indicate the reasons why it was in France rather than elsewhere that the Great Revolution, stirrings of which were perceptible in almost all European countries, came to a head; secondly, why it presented itself as an almost natural outcome of the very social order it made such haste to destroy; and, lastly, why the monarchy which had weathered so many storms in the past collapsed so suddenly and catastrophically."
......Note the three interesting arguments implicit in this formulation of the
problems Tocqueville wants to address. First, Tocqueville believes that the French Revolution is not primarily
"regime change" in the narrow sense or even that it is distinctly French. The historical importance of
the event, in his mind, arises from the fact that the Revolution transcended national boundaries and altered
how individuals thought of themselves - a change with enormous political consequences.
......Second, he argues that the revolution was essentially a natural result of a
specific social order (for which reason he believes it worthwhile to study the Old Regime rather - at least initially
- than the course of the Revolution itself). Remember this point and chew it over: political change arises
from and reflects changes in social circumstances. Is this true? How would you think about other events
in history if you believed this? Whether you believe it or not, this begs the question of what constitutes social
circumstance. Is it a product of economic change (as Chapter 4 in Part III might lead us to believe)?
Is social circumstance affected by ideas or ideologies?
......Third, the entity that was affected by the Revolution was the French monarchy,
the French state. Consider what Tocqueville means by the monarchy. Why does he consider the centralization
of the Old Regime to be worth dwelling upon? If Tocqueville is correct that France after the Revolution has many
characteristics in common with the Old Regime, what did the Revolution accomplish? Did it have primarily a social
or a political purpose?
Week II Reading Guide:
......Tocqueville's observations and arguments are very powerful and will be very
helpful to you as a contrast with Skocpol next week. If you have the time, I would recommend reading all of the
text. Since you are all young and busy and foolish enough to believe that you have more important things to do
than think about the backward-looking observations of a dying French nobleman more than a century and a half vanished
into history, the recommended selections from the syllabus will serve you fairly well:
- Part I (all)
- Part II Ch. 8-12
- Part III (all)
Discussion Questions
......Please remember that you are required to submit a 1-page response
paper on Tocqueville by the evening before your section. If you submit it electronically (which I prefer), please
do so before midnight. You may write your response paper on any topic related to the reading, but
building it around one of these discussion questions might be useful for you.
1. What, in Tocqueville's view, was the purpose of the Revolution?
2. In Tocqueville's view, what made the Revolution possible?
3. Was the Revolution inevitable? If so, what made it inevitable?
4. Was the state under the Old Regime a 'progressive' force that worked to weaken the social order of feudalism, or a force of resistance that protected it against such change?
5. What explains the wave of anti-religious feeling in 18th century France?
6. Why does so strong a supporter of political liberty as Tocqueville condemn French intellectuals so categorically?
7. Given the economic progress of the 18th century in France, why was the French state so poorly financed? Could this situation have been avoided?
8. Why had even the privileged class in France turned against the monarchy by 1789?
9. What are the main elements of Tocqueville's comparison between Britain and France in the 18th century? Which of these elements do you consider most important?
10. Why does Tocqueville believe that the turmoil at the end of the Old Regime and the violence of the revolution permanently mortgaged or crippled the political future?
11. What was the role of external conflict in the downfall of the Old Regime? Would the Revolution have occurred absent external conflict?
12. Did economic development, changes in the character and balance of social classes, or changes in the intellectual climate do more to destabilize the Old Regime?
13. On what was the legitimacy of the Old Regime based? Does Tocqueville's account give any weight to the legitimacy of the monarchy?
Links!
- The complete text of an earlier translation of The Old Regime and the French Revolution.
- A brief Timeline of the French Revolution (note the point on dates at the beginning; the Revolutionaries believed that they were literally re-starting history.)
- The Beginner's Guide to the French Revolution
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