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“L’Homme est tellement fait pout la société qu’il en fait son objet favori et sa principale satisfaction » wrote Nicolas de La Mare in his Traité de la Police 1705. The police commissary who served under the reign of Louis XIV explains in this quote, taken from his works on policing strategy, that Man is a social animal and is destined to hold society and its workings in the highest regard. This desire for control over how society is run is perfectly depicted during the French Revolution of the XVIII century. The desire for the people to take the reins of their nation is at the forefront of the uprisings that ultimately led to drastic socio-political change in France and across the Western world, guiding the passage from l’époque moderne to l’époque contemporaine. The notion of socio-political change is the essential point of remodeling during this period and this essay will demonstrate this. In effect, it is essential to resist the dichotomic temptation when regarding politics and society. These two concepts act upon one another heavily and one cannot be understood without elements of the other. Social revolution takes into account modifications to society, philosophy, technology, economy, and culture, these concepts will be pillars in our ongoing reflection. Political revolution consists of the overthrowing of the governing body or person in favor of another, usually by the governing body, therefore changing society drastically. This essay will now demonstrate why it is imperative to understand the French Revolution as a socio-political revolution, and why both elements are equally essential within this context.
Firstly, la question sociale is an essential concept to understanding the uprising of the French people. Most notably the tiers état or third estate, which refers to the bourgeoisie (middle class) and the sans-culottes being the common people and peasants. Even though the appellation of the social question didn’t appear until the XIX century, the notion is useful in understanding what motivated large portions of the tiers and smaller portions of the upper classes to take to the streets. Effectively misery ran rampant in the streets of the capital and rural France, fuelled by extravagant spending by the monarchy as well as international tensions leading to massive military and defence costs. This royal debt was slightly atoned for by severe taxing of the third estate, therefore leading to devastating consequences for the sans culottes of this social class. A social class that already struggled to provide food to their families due to a severe lack of technological advancements in the agricultural industry. In effect, overpopulation had become an essential problem for the French state, and scarcity and famine ran rampant. This was paired with an industrial crisis due to a treaty signed in 1786 with Great Britain leading to a huge influx of goods into France. This led to large portions of peasants losing their bye-employment in the industrial sector as well as severe consequences to the artisan trade. This now meant that anyway out of la misère, for the peasantry, was a good one. And to their understanding, the cause of all their problems was the feudal system, taxation, and their inability to possess land. Hence why this period combines necessity with a desire for change. Nothing embodies the change quite like the Enlightenment. A time period of philosophical reflection where critical thinking, liberty, and tolerance, amalgamated.
Kant’s nonage is a very accurate depiction of what socio-political reflection might look like to most inhabitants of France before the Enlightenment. In a sense it is understandable because of the harsh living conditions, peasantry was shepherded into laboring rather than reflecting on society. To a certain extent, philosophical thought was a luxury because only a small portion of the Bourgeoisie had access to education, and knowledge and therefore had means of approaching the social circle that made up Les Lumières. This circle was a guiding light during the tumultuous times of the French Revolution. These men and women questioned essential elements of the feudal system as well as other elements that were taken for granted in that society like religion. Religion is an example that embodies exactly why the French Revolution is both a social and political one. Louis XIV as well as all the kings that came before him, held their power from divine right, the national religion being Christianity. At the beginning of the Revolution, Catholicism appeared as the national religion; everywhere religious ceremonies enthusiastically accompanied the establishment of the new order. The abolition of the tithe and the transformation of church property into national property did not profoundly disturb the relationship between church and state in 1789.
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