3# Conservative Backlashes Flashcards
How to explain the French revolution?
1. A Marxist interpretation: class-competition
- The traditional explanation is flawed bcs it wrongly divides society into feudal aristocracy and capitalist burgeoisie.
- Feudal system already weakend, burgeoisie consisted of diverse groups
- revolution slowed down industrialization
- bugeoisie lacked unified class consciousness due to regional differences, they didnt have revolutionary aspirations but they seeked nobiity and social hierarchy
2. The victory of Enlightenment ideas: popular sovereignity, reason and rights
- François Furet, in “Penser la Révolution française” , argues that the French Revolution involved a conflict over ideas and norms, not just social conflicts.
- emphasized the concept of sovereignity and influence of Rousseau’s “The Social Contract.”
- Keith Baker, in “Inventing the French Revolution”, discusses competing discourses of justice, equality, and popular will.
- Baker sees the Reign of Terror as a result of the rise of the “popular will” ideal.
3. Linking social and ideational theories
- During a period marked by the rise of a mercantile class and changing economic relations, the spread of bourgeois beliefs, such as meritocracy and reason, facilitated the adoption of Enlightenment ideas, including the concept of “popular sovereignty.” This emphasized the power of the people in self-governance.
Was the Revolution the result of growing bourgeois class consciousness?
No, because the the bourgeoisie lacked a unified class consciousness due to provincialism and had aspirations to become nobles and preserve social hierarchy. Their focus was on individual progress rather than revolutionary change.
Should we understand the French Revolution as an attempt to dismantle the Three Estates system? Why (not)?
Yes, the French Revolution can be understood as an attempt to dismantle the Three Estates system. The revolution aimed to challenge the privileges and power of the clergy and nobility, seeking to create a more equal and democratic society based on citizenship and individual merit.
- What was Edmund Burke’s central critique on the French Revolution?
- too radical and disconnected from its own historical context.
- rights are not universal but arise from specific historical circumstances.
- emphasized the importance of societal continuity and the balance between rights and duties.
- argued against the Enlightenment’s optimism about the perfectibility of individuals and society
What was the “Congress of Vienna” about?
- the congress aimed to restore monarchic dynasties and create a new balance of power in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars:
- France’s size was reduced, buffer states were established create buffer states like the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia, and territorial changes , with Prussia gaining authority over several regions, Russia acquiring Finland and parts of Poland, and Austria reclaiming territories such as Tirol and Venetian Lombardy.
- The goal was to prevent one country from becoming too powerful and maintain stability in the region.
- Britain focused on commercial interests and made minimal territorial claims
- Final declaration was the result of two committees
- Committee of 5 great powers: France, Great-Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia
- Committee of 8 great powers: above + Sweden, Spain and Portugal
- Major diplomatic event: 216 political leaders; + 200.000 visitors
- Dozens of commissions collecting data and information, working on the abolition of slavery, the unification of German states, …
- Many celebrations, festivities, re-enactments of battles (panorama) and concerts
- Established a new international order, based on “acting in concert”
- Directory of the Great Powers: regular meetings devoted to the common European interest, the prosperity of peoples, and the maintenance of peace
- Treaty of the Holy Alliance: Russia, Austria and Prussia
- Why was France not punished more severely by the victors of the Napoleonic wars in 1815?
- France was not severely punished for the Napoleonic Wars because it was feared that harsh treatment could lead to revenge and destabilize the region.
- Instead, France’s size was reduced to its 1792 dimensions, maintaining it as a major European power while ensuring control and stability.
- Why do we call the architects of the ”Congress of Vienna” conservatives and not reactionaries?
-because, while they sought to restore monarchic rule and maintain the pre-revolutionary order, they implemented moderate reforms and tried to balance reactionary and revolutionary forces.
-They were not blindly traditionalist and utilized administrative centralization measures introduced during Napoleon’s rule.
-Their approach acknowledged the need for stability while adapting to changing circumstances.
Tell me more about the liberal challenges that happened in 1830.
- Liberal changes following the July Revolution included recognition of popular sovereignty, the transformation of the Chamber of Peers into a more inclusive body, the establishment of constitutional monarchies, and the drafting of constitutions in various countries.
- These changes aimed to increase political participation, limit the powers of the monarchy, and protect individual rights..
Explain me the radicalisation
- it happened after the breach with the conservative order in 1830
- Most revolutionaries were liberals committed to constitutional reform but concerned about social unrest.
- urban workers and peasantry remained dispossessed.
- The “Hungry Forties” brought agricultural disasters and population growth, setting the stage for new revolutions
- Poverty was seen as a result of individual flaws, and policies focused on discouraging idleness.
- The 1840s saw social crisis and political instability, leading to the workers’ revolution in 1848.
- This marked the end of the constitutional monarchy and the return of the Republic, with universal male suffrage.
Describe the revolutions that happened in 1848
- revolutions were characterized by a widespread revolutionary wave led by coalitions of middle-class and working-class groups.
- some successes -> end of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the abolition of absolute monarchy in Denmark, and the introduction of universal male suffrage in France, the revolutions were mainly successful in France.
- rapid polarization and conflict among the revolutionaries themselves: the liberals, who advocated for constitutional reform, political and civil rights, and economic freedom, and the radicals, who sought greater democratization and fundamental social reform, including equality.
- growing alignment between liberals and conservatives due to conservative anxiety towards workers’ militancy. This alliance resulted in a rollback of political liberties, including legal restrictions on the press, the closure of newspapers, and the repression of political clubs.
- In France, the revolution turned violent, resulting in the establishment of the Second French Empire under Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
- What was the main political impact of the 1848 revolutions?
- the consolidation of parliamentary roles,
- the abolition of serfdom,
- increased political participation
- gradual extension of voting rights.
These revolutions advanced the process of democratization, despite conservative victories.
