LiJiao

Why did the Great Revolution happen in France？ What impact has it on the French society？ Tocqueville explained the old system， the background of the great revolution and the influencing factors in the book “The Old System and the Great Revolution”， and explained the relationship between them. The “Old Institutions and the Great Revolution” presented the status quo of the French society on the eve of the Great Revolution. From the aristocracy to the civilians， every class in France has played its historical role in the social change， hating emotions full of the society， the traditional aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. It was common among the civilians and has led to widespread social divisions and the emergence of small groups.

The background to hate emotions

The “old system” is relative to the French Revolution that erupted in 1789. The French revolutionaries in 1789 defined the pre-revolutionary France as an “old system”. The “old system” mainly referred to the “absolute monarchy” political system that had existed in France for two to three hundred years before the 1789 revolution. This kind of political system was gradually depriving the aristocrats of political power and privileges in the process of centralization. However， to a certain extent， it retained a large number of feudal remnants. The most fundamental is the hierarchical division of society， namely， priests and knights， three levels of civilians. This division led to the inequality and instability of the pyramid structure in French society， and laid the hidden danger for the outbreak of the later period of the Great Revolution.

The French Revolution， which broke out in 1789， was called the “Great Revolution” and was aimed at “cleaning up the obstacles” for the modernization of France. However， the “great revolution” is essentially a social and political issue. It attempted to break the unequal hierarchy through violent revolutions. Therefore， the French Revolution is characterized by violence and radicalism compared to the United States and the British revolutions. Through the enthusiasm and near-complete pursuit of equality， the “Great Revolution” caused the siege of the entire European aristocracy in France. Under the tense situation of internal and diplomatic persecution， the revolutionaries had to call on the people and organize extensive public mobilization. At the same time， in order to cater to the demands of the people， the revolutionaries launched a “terrorist rule.” Therefore， the French people also paid a high price for it， and they suffered from the aftermath of the radical revolution for nearly a century.

Tocqueville thought： “This revolution is by no means an accidental event. Indeed， it has caught the world by surprise， but it is only the completion of a long-term work. It was the sudden and violent end of the work of ten generations， even if it did not happen， sooner or later， the old social buildings will collapse， and the great revolution will， through painful and painstaking efforts， be straightforward， drastic， and unhurried， and will suddenly complete a business that needs to be accomplished by itself for a long time.”The development is continuous. The absolute monarchy under the old system gave birth to the French Revolution. The monarchs weakened the aristocratic forces to strengthen the centralization. When the Great Revolution abolished the feudal privilege， the process of pursuing equality inadvertently developed the centralization， the old system and the Great Revolution. They both are in the dialectical relations for this.

The universal generation of "hate" emotions

Tocqueville discovered that the French society before the Great Revolution was full of “hate” emotions. The spread of this sentiment has led to the separation of people from each other， the division of various social strata， and the increasingly fragmented society. The groups with the most intense hatred among them are concentrated among the aristocrats， asset owners and farmers.

The aristocratic hatred comes from the lack of political rights and the reduction of wealth. In the course of continuous centralization， the traditional privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy were gradually deprived. The king appointed the governor to replace the aristocracy and became the new administrator. The political power of the traditional aristocracy continued to decrease， creating the resentment for the upper class. Moreover， the lack of political rights led to a decrease in the wealth of the traditional aristocrats. The land of the traditional nobles had gradually flowed into the hands of the bourgeoisie and the peasants. The bourgeoisie and the peasants made a profit directly on the lands and divided the wealth of traditional nobles， resulting in the traditional aristocracy against the bourgeoisie. And the farmers had hatred. Therefore， the traditional aristocracy as a mezzanine cake in the middle， dissatisfied with the central privilege of the monarch's deprivation of political privileges， dissatisfaction with the depriving of the bourgeoisie and the peasants on the land and other wealth， so hate sentiment in the traditional aristocracy was generally spread.

As an emerging class， the bourgeoisie had also developed hatred towards the tax exemption enjoyed by traditional aristocrats. On the one hand， with the increase of the French national fiscal expenditure， the scope and extent of taxation had gradually increased， and traditional aristocrats were becoming heavier and heavier. Therefore， the bourgeoisie hated the traditional aristocrats； on the other hand， the traditional aristocrat duty-free privilege was a symbol of status and symbolized the nobility's noble social status. Moreover， from the economic point of view， the bourgeoisie was equal to the traditional nobles in terms of wealth. At the same time， in terms of social status， they also desperately wanted the same status and privileges as the traditional aristocrats had. The inequality of taxation promoted the noble process of the French bourgeoisie. “Only as many as ten thousand jobs were established in these ten years from 1693 to 1709， and the enthusiasm of the bourgeoisie for these positions was unprecedented. If any one of them feels that he has a small capital， it was immediately used to buy jobs rather than for business.” The phenomenon of buying and selling officials was prevalent among the bourgeoisie， and the governments demise deepened the hatred of the bourgeoisie.

Compared with the traditional aristocrats and the bourgeoisie， the hatred of the peasants stemed from the “abandoning” of the peasant class by the traditional aristocrats and the bourgeoisie， so that the peasants fell into isolation. Tocqueville described that “from the 17th century， the nobility began to flee the countryside. By the 18th century， this phenomenon was universal. In the rural areas， there were only a few small nobles who were well-to-do and unable to get out， although they remained in the countryside. They 'people are not attentive'， and they have pulled out a great distance emotionally from their neighboring peasants and become a kind of 'mindless not the landlord'.”The traditional sense of distance between the aristocracy and the peasantry gradually developed， and the sense of distance transformed. For the sense of alienation， the traditional aristocrats were indifferent to the peasants and their attitude became even worse. The bourgeoisie renewed its long-abandoned feudal tax system on the peasants and forced the farmers to pay taxes. On the surface， the peasants were liberated. In fact， the peasant class was abandoned， and the peasants “are almost always unable to resist the pressure of oppression except for the use of violence.”

Social consequences of the widespread hate emotions

The widespread hate emotions had cut the links between the traditional aristocracy， the bourgeoisie， and the peasants， leading to the general breakdown of society and the emergence of collective individualism. Tocqueville said： “These sad privileges make those who have been deprived of their privilege full of jealousy， and make those privileged people more selfish and arrogant.”

The “degeneration” of the traditional aristocracy and the aristocratization of the bourgeoisie had caused the peasant classes to be abandoned to a certain extent and the social stratum had generally broken. “Nothing was more evident in the entire 18th century than the hostility of the urban bourgeoisie to the suburban peasants and the suburban jealousy of the city.” The middle class in the city and the farmers in the suburbs also “almost become enemies”. The bourgeoisie colluded with the government， bought the official， and deprived the peasants of their political power， which severed the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the peasantry. Moreover， the economic exploitation of peasants by the bourgeoisie has exacerbated the relationship between the two. At the same time， the bourgeoisie itself has also split into many small groups.

The emergence of small groups had produced collective individualism in the French society. The bourgeoisie split up into tiny subtle groups， and these small groups continued to be refined and isolated from each other. They only care about their own interests， mutual suspicion and hatred. In Tocquevilles view， this was the deadliest shortcoming that had caused the old system to perish. It had caused the people to remain in a strange and mutually hostile tension for a long time， and ultimately forgot how to cooperate： “When France was divided 60 years ago， When the different classes re-contacted each other after long-term isolation， they first touched their wounds， and they reunited only for the sake of smashing each other. Even today， although they are no longer in the world， they are not. Hatred still stays in the world.”

In this way， society could not organize effective forces to restrain the king， and society could not organize effective forces to assist the government. The over-strengthening of centralized authority had damaged political authority. The appearance of any crisis may have a serious impact on politics. “Once the society as its foundation is shaken， the grand building of this monarch will be completely destroyed in an instant.”

Hate sentiment ran through the entire French Revolution. All levels of society hated each other. The convening of the parliament was to bring their conflicts to the table. In the case of incompatibility with each other， all levels could not negotiate and cooperate better. Moreover， the influence of literati politics on the entire French society is considerable. The literati's political propaganda and insights influence the ideology of all social strata， thus affecting their thinking patterns and behavioral methods. Therefore， the French Revolution had its inevitable and violent nature.