The Old Regime and the Revolution, Volume I: The Complete Text

by Alexis de Tocqueville, Alan S. Kahan (Translator), François Furet (Editor)

The Old Regime and the Revolution is Alexis de Tocqueville's great meditation on the origins and meanings of the French Revolution. One of the most profound and influential studies of this pivotal event, it remains a relevant and stimulating discussion of the problem of preserving individual and political freedom in the modern world. Alan Kahan's translation provides a faithful, readable rendering of Tocqueville's last masterpiece, and includes notes and variants which reveal Tocqueville's sources and include excerpts from his drafts and revisions. The introduction by France's most eminent scholars of Tocqueville and the French Revolution, Françoise Mélonio and the late François Furet, provides a brilliant analysis of the work.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, France, European History, Philosophy

459 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 1998

About the author

Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville, usually known as just Tocqueville, was a French aristocrat, diplomat, sociologist, political scientist, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both, he analyzed the living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science.
Tocqueville was active in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded the February 1848 Revolution. He retired from political life after Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 2 December 1851 coup and thereafter began work on The Old Regime and the Revolution. Tocqueville argued the importance of the French Revolution was to continue the process of modernizing and centralizing the French state which had begun under Louis XIV. He believed the failure of the Revolution came from the inexperience of the deputies who were too wedded to abstract Enlightenment ideals.
Tocqueville was a classical liberal who advocated parliamentary government and was skeptical of the extremes of majoritarianism. During his time in parliament, he was first a member of the centre-left before moving to the centre-right, and the complex and restless nature of his liberalism has led to contrasting interpretations and admirers across the political spectrum.

Reviews

[Samuel Westerberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boken beskriver väl varför många var missnöjda med det franska samhället innan revolutionen. Den berättar dock inte historian om hur själva revolutionen gick till. Den kräver en del koncentration för att läsa märkte jag också…

[Dominic Foo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent historical and sociological analysis of the French Revolution. Based on his personal familiarity with the primary sources, Tocqueville convincingly demonstrates how the Revolution was actually enabled by the actions and institutions of the ancien regime as it whittled away at the old local institutions, powers, and aristocracy in favour of a centralised bureaucracy. A straight line was paved as such from absolute royal power to the French Revolutionaries deployment of that absolute central power based on bureaucracy to realise their new abstract and systematic schemes.

This is a definite must read for all who wants to understand the historical and sociological conditions which enabled the Revolution.

[Chris Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really clear and incredible analysis of the causes of the French Revolution, but it is definitely not for beginner's. It's not a "difficult" read per se, but assumes a level of pre-existing knowledge that I very much did not have. I still felt like a got a lot of out it, but I think if I had spent some time accumulating more background knowledge before approaching this deep dive, then I probably would have taken much more from it. Might have to revisit it some day in the future.

[Melissa]

Tocqueville analyzes the regime prior to the French Revolution and argues that the old aristocracy paved the way for the revolution, both in the way that Paris gained a totalizing influence on French society and in the administrative centralization that was eventually revived under the Republic. He takes on Burke quite seriously in some points, but he seems to be very well-informed in his arguments. An interesting counterpoint to his discussion of Democracy in America.