Saturday, February 17, 2007
Tocqueville 4: Change and Constancy
One of Tocqueville’s primary arguments is that much of what the Revolution supposedly ushered in was in fact already in place in the Old Regime. At different points in the text, Tocqueville is arguing that although there may new outward forms, the substance (e.g. degree of centralization) of the state remains the same. Does Tocqueville persuade you? Does the Revolution usher in a completely new state? Or is it merely a continuation of what came before? What pieces of evidence lead to your conclusion?
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Tocqueville suggests the difference between social and political or institutional reforms. On pg. 117 Tocqueville said, "When the nobility posesses not only privilege but power, when it governs and administers its special rights can be both greater and less noticed." In France, the power was not great enough to legitimate the special rights of the nobility (i.e. taxes). Comparing the noble to the peasant "his rank is different; not his power" (114). While the old regime's style might have looked to continue, the revolution aimed to eradicate the seemingly contradictory differences between the social mores and institutions that give power versus privilege. -Katie
At the start of II.5, Tocqueville offers his broad evidence that substantive institutions of the Old Regime remain after the Revolution:
"Let us now briefly summarize the three preceding chapters: a single body, placed at the center of the kingdom, which ruled public administration throughout the country; the same minister directing almost all internal affairs; in every province, a single official who dealt with all the details; hardly any lesser administrative bodies or any that could act without previous authorization; exceptional courts which judged matters in which the government was involved and protected all its agents. What is this, if not the centralization we know? Its forms are less obvious than today, its procedures less regular, its exisitence more difficult; but it is the same thing."
While this perception -- that there has been only a limited institutional change -- may be accurate, it does not limit the "revolutionary nature" of the Revolution. The particular aspects of the regime certainly matter; but they only take on real weight in the context of the surrounding political order. Even if the state was formally centralized (and remains centralized), the dramatic changes in the political order have a strong impact. In particular, Tocqueville's own characterization of the Nobility-Bourgeois dichotomy is such an example. If the revolution changed how these two sociopolitical adversaries interact, and interact with the central authority (as Tocqueville claims), then there is mere continuation of the same political structures. Instead, we can characterize the Revolution as a significant regime change, even if the face of the government appears similar.
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