Origins of the French Revolution

Abstract

AbstractThere is at present no comprehensive interpretation of the origins of the French Revolution. Because of the fragmented state of the argument, this article explores several perspectives that have influenced research on the Revolution's origins including Alexis de Tocqueville's view of the state; research on the politics of the court at Versailles and the parlements; fiscal origins by institutional economic historians; and cultural approaches, including the analysis of the public sphere by Jürgen Habermas. It concludes that the collapse of the Old Regime was the result of a variety of converging causes, many of which had deep roots in the institutional structure of the old regime. The state itself generated institutional contradictions by both reinforcing privilege and implementing policies that undercut privilege in the quest for greater administrative efficiency. Ministerial incompetence combined with new forces, including enhanced international pressure from efficient British war finance and the growing appeal to public opinion, made reform increasingly difficult and created conditions favorable to revolution when the state went bankrupt in 1789.