The French Revolution (1789-1799) served to abolish the existing governmental structure in France. The people would no longer allow a system of aristocratic privilege. This led to the Enlightenment and a paradigmatic shift in the ideas of individuality and natural rights, and eventually the acceptance of a declaration of the rights of man. Life in feudal France before the time of the French Revolution was one based upon custom and privilege. The social and political order existed in a hierarchy of power and status, oftentimes predetermined by birth, leaving others to act as subjects. Being a tributary state, where goods are extracted from the primary producers by political or military means, this hierarchy also directed the flow of commodities. Privilege was offered to all classes, but not fairly distributed. Peasants were offered usufruct rights, which allowed them access to and use, but not ownership, of land. Seemingly generous, these rights must be understood in context with the privileges of the nobility and king. The nobility and king were allowed seigneurial privileges, which authorized access to the product of another person’s labor. These rights extended to payment of dues, collection of taxes and fees, and monopolies over the production generated by the peasants. This flow of commodities ascended the hierarchical ladder more than descended. The peasants were even restricted in the type of goods they were allowed to own and stylings they were allowed to display, in a type of law known as sumptuary law. This was a governing system where the power lied with the king, clergy, and nobles, moving amongst each other in a mutual fashion. This acted much like a system of checks and balances, which ultimately is the reason the French Revolution was able to occur in the way that it did. King Louis XVI, having overextended the country financially in a series of wars, called upon the Estates General, which would meet for the discussion of treaties on political policy. The Estates General consisted of three estates: that of the clergy, nobles, and the other classes. The king had hoped to recoup the losses through the approval of new taxes, while the nobility hoped to gain more power at the expense of the king. The lower classes intentions were quite different. The first and second estate were forced to accept The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which outlined the supposed inalienable rights entitled to each and every person by nature, and not by birth. These natural rights arose out of the development of Enlightenment ideas of nature, citizenship, individuality, freedom, etc. The oppression of the under classes generated disgust with royal and aristocratic absolutism, and they were inspired by the American and English Revolutions to take action. The inability of the royalty to stay within the boundaries of budget and the ripeness of the need for fundamental change for the lower classes motivated the final abolition of the existing governmental structure, which allowed the new system to arise. The Cahier of the Third Estate of the City of Paris was a record of grievances perpetrated against the members of the classes of the third estate. After revisions and editing, it would finally be presented at the Estates General. It describes the tone of the feudal lifestyle for the peasant, and can be read as a precursor to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The quest was to establish equality amongst classes, as seen in the following quotations. “The Estates General shall void every special tax, on persons or on property… and replace them as needed by general taxes, payable by all citizens of every order.” “Those guilty of the same crime, no matter what order of society they are from, should undergo the same punishment.” These suggestions can be derived from the later and broader Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, from which the following quotes are obtained. “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions can be established only for the common benefit.” “Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one may be deprived of it except when public necessity, legally determined, requires it, and on condition of a just and predetermined compensation.” Both of these political memorandums attempt to enforce a common law: the equality of all people. There are no more social distinctions or privileges based on birth-right. Peasants are no longer restricted in the ownership of property. Government service is no longer allowed based on social rank. There exists freedom of communication. And most importantly, sovereignty lies with the nation and not the monarch. The only actions prohibited are those that are harmful to society. The individual is now a citizen, an equal member of the whole of society. Years of oppression and privilege fueled the upheaval of the feudal system and made way for the birth of a centralized state. Alexis De Tocqueville saw the victory not only as the institution of a new form of government, but the destruction of privileged groups existing alongside. He also cautions, because the destruction of privileged groups places the power entirely in the hand of the state.
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For more information on government and society interaction, such as the third world, please visit Jared B. Hobbs at his blog Meditations and become a Scholar of Consciousness!
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