French Revolution's Ancient Regime: Politics, Society, Economy

The Ancient Regime: System to Be Destroyed

The term Ancient Regime was used by the French revolutionaries to define the system they wanted to destroy. It was the political, economic, and social system used in France during the 17th and 18th centuries. This system was based on:

• An absolute monarchy.
• A society divided into privileged and non-privileged groups (the estates society).
• An economy based on agriculture and controlled by the State.

Political Structure: Absolute Monarchy

Politically, the system featured an absolute monarchy, where the king held all powers. Revolutionaries sought to establish a representative government and enforce the separation of powers (executive, legislative, judicial).

Social Structure: The Estates

Society was rigidly divided into estates:

• Privileged Estates: Nobility and Clergy.
• Non-Privileged Estate: Peasants, craftsmen, and the bourgeoisie (collectively known as the Third Estate).

The Third Estate was often very wealthy and heavily influenced by Enlightenment ideas. Consequently, they attacked the power of the nobility and clergy, demanding a society based on the legal equality of all citizens, without privileges.

Economic Limitations

The economy relied heavily on agriculture, characterized by low productivity. Economic activities were severely limited by guilds, internal customs barriers, and numerous taxes. Revolutionaries advocated for a productive economy where initiative and business could thrive without such limitations.

The Enlightenment: Intellectual Movement of the 18th Century

During the 18th century, a new intellectual movement, the Enlightenment, grew in France and spread across Europe and parts of America. Its main ideas included:

Core Enlightenment Principles

• Faith in Human Reason: Reason was considered essential and the only source for understanding the world.
• Progress and Happiness: Progress must be achieved through education and scientific advances, with the ultimate goal being human happiness.
• Criticism of the Ancient Regime: The existing system was seen as a major threat to happiness and progress.
• Critical Thinking: Developing an independent point of view creates free and educated people.
• Religion: Traditional religious beliefs were strongly criticized, leading to the development of deism, a new type of natural religion.
• Science: Science played a leading role in intellectual thought.

Key Enlightenment Thinkers

Montesquieu

A French nobleman, Montesquieu based his ideas on John Locke's theories and the English political model, where Parliament controlled royal acts since the Glorious Revolution (1688). His main political treatise was The Spirit of Laws (1748).

Voltaire

Voltaire was another influential French intellectual. He inspired the concept of Enlightened Despotism, believing monarchs should be advised by intellectuals who would lead national politics. He also attacked noble privileges and defended the importance of education, industry, and an agricultural revolution.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

This Franco-Swiss thinker was more radical than the others and did not belong to the nobility. His main work is On the Social Contract (1762), where he defended that sovereignty resides in the people. Therefore, the government must follow the people's will, or risk being ousted from power.