The Old Regime and the Revolution
Encyclopedia
L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution (1856) is a work by the French
historian
Alexis de Tocqueville
translated in English
as either The Old Regime and the Revolution or The Old Regime and the French Revolution. The book analyzes French society before the French Revolution
— the so-called "Ancien Régime
" — and investigates the causes and forces that caused the Revolution. It is one of the major early historical works on the French Revolution. In this book, de Tocqueville develops his main theory about the French revolution, the theory of continuity, in which he states that even though the French tried to disassociate themselves from the past and from the autocratic old regime, they eventually reverted to a powerful central government.
(1789–1799) was not to destroy the sovereignty
of religious faith (church
) or create a state of permanent disorder (anarchy
). It was essentially a movement for political and social reform to increase the power and jurisdiction of the central authority.The Revolution
never intended to change the whole nature of our traditional society. The chief permanent achievement of the French Revolution
was the suppression of those political institutions, commonly described as feudal, which for many centuries had held unquestioned sway in most European countries. The Revolution
set out to replace them with a new social and political order, based on the concept of equality
.
In the work, Tocqueville makes some key propositions, of which three are the most discernible.
Firstly, he stresses the point, that even though the French tried to change close to everything with the Revolution, they fell back on patterns that were observable before it, because they could not help use them as a template. Especially, they wanted to abolish the old system still yet ended up, as it was the case before, with a strong state because, paradoxically, it was the only thing that could be envisioned to destruct the old system and yet maintain order. Thus, much of the old system had to be kept to use it to bring about its destruction. This, in Tocqueville's view is the reason why even though the French tried to change everything, much stayed as it was before.
Secondly, Tocqueville repeatedly stresses is that if people want freedom not for its own sake but for some other goal, to further their material interest, it is unlikely that freedom will not turn into a despotic form of rule, where everyone may be free to further their material interest but without political freedom. He thus argues that if material, self-interested behaviour is the offspring for action, people may vote for a government that gives them economic stability, even if the price to pay for this is political freedom.
Thirdly, seeing Tocqueville's work in context to Democracy in America
, it can be argued that he saw France as being the opposite of the US. Whereas in France before (and after) the revolution, people relied on the central power instead of becoming economically or politically active themselves, in the US political action took place on a “grassroots” level. There, private individuals formed the basis of economic and political life, but, in France, this center of gravity was taken up by the bureaucratic machine.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution . In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in...
translated in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as either The Old Regime and the Revolution or The Old Regime and the French Revolution. The book analyzes French society before the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
— the so-called "Ancien Régime
Ancien Régime in France
The Ancien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system established in France from the 15th century to the 18th century under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties...
" — and investigates the causes and forces that caused the Revolution. It is one of the major early historical works on the French Revolution. In this book, de Tocqueville develops his main theory about the French revolution, the theory of continuity, in which he states that even though the French tried to disassociate themselves from the past and from the autocratic old regime, they eventually reverted to a powerful central government.
The Ancien Régime and the French Revolution (Hiatus)
The aim of the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
(1789–1799) was not to destroy the sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
of religious faith (church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
) or create a state of permanent disorder (anarchy
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
). It was essentially a movement for political and social reform to increase the power and jurisdiction of the central authority.The Revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
never intended to change the whole nature of our traditional society. The chief permanent achievement of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
was the suppression of those political institutions, commonly described as feudal, which for many centuries had held unquestioned sway in most European countries. The Revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
set out to replace them with a new social and political order, based on the concept of equality
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
.
In the work, Tocqueville makes some key propositions, of which three are the most discernible.
Firstly, he stresses the point, that even though the French tried to change close to everything with the Revolution, they fell back on patterns that were observable before it, because they could not help use them as a template. Especially, they wanted to abolish the old system still yet ended up, as it was the case before, with a strong state because, paradoxically, it was the only thing that could be envisioned to destruct the old system and yet maintain order. Thus, much of the old system had to be kept to use it to bring about its destruction. This, in Tocqueville's view is the reason why even though the French tried to change everything, much stayed as it was before.
Secondly, Tocqueville repeatedly stresses is that if people want freedom not for its own sake but for some other goal, to further their material interest, it is unlikely that freedom will not turn into a despotic form of rule, where everyone may be free to further their material interest but without political freedom. He thus argues that if material, self-interested behaviour is the offspring for action, people may vote for a government that gives them economic stability, even if the price to pay for this is political freedom.
Thirdly, seeing Tocqueville's work in context to Democracy in America
Democracy in America
De la démocratie en Amérique is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville. A "literal" translation of its title is Of Democracy in America, but the usual translation of the title is simply Democracy in America...
, it can be argued that he saw France as being the opposite of the US. Whereas in France before (and after) the revolution, people relied on the central power instead of becoming economically or politically active themselves, in the US political action took place on a “grassroots” level. There, private individuals formed the basis of economic and political life, but, in France, this center of gravity was taken up by the bureaucratic machine.