Capitalism and the Emergence of Civic Equality in Eighteenth-Century France

AvWilliam H. Sewell Jr.

Inbunden, Engelska, 2021

Del i serien Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning

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Beskrivning

There is little doubt that the French Revolution of 1789 changed the course of Western history. But why did the idea of civic equality—a distinctive signature of that revolution—find such fertile ground in France? How might changing economic and social realities have affected political opinions? William H. Sewell Jr. argues that the flourishing of commercial capitalism in eighteenth-century France introduced a new independence, flexibility, and anonymity to French social life. By entering the interstices of this otherwise rigidly hierarchical society, expanded commodity exchange colored everyday experience in ways that made civic equality thinkable, possible, even desirable, when the crisis of the French Revolution arrived. Sewell ties together masterful analyses of a multitude of interrelated topics: the rise of commerce, the emergence of urban publics, the careers of the philosophes, commercial publishing, patronage, political economy, trade, and state finance. Capitalism and the Emergence of Civic Equality in Eighteenth-Century France offers an original interpretation of one of history’s pivotal moments.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2021-05-06
Mått:152 x 229 x 28 mm
Vikt:708 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning
Antal sidor:416
Förlag:The University of Chicago Press
ISBN:9780226770321

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Mer om författaren

William H. Sewell Jr. is the Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in Political Science and History at the University of Chicago. He is the author of several books, including, most recently, Logics of History: Social Theory and Social Transformation, published by the University of Chicago Press.

Recensioner i media

"[An] ambitious work. The result of years of reflection... it presents a compelling vision of the way a specifically French variety of capitalism developed in the 18th century, and how resulting forms of social experience in turn laid the groundwork for a new, revolutionary politics."

Innehållsförteckning

Introduction: The French Revolution and the Shock of Civic EqualityChapter 1: Old Regime State and SocietyChapter 2: The Eighteenth-Century Economy: Commerce and CapitalismPart 1: The Emergence of an Urban PublicChapter 3: The Commercial Public SphereChapter 4: The Empire of FashionChapter 5: The Parisian PromenadePart 2: The Philosophes and the Career Open to TalentChapter 6: The Philosophe Career and the Impossible Example of VoltaireChapter 7: Denis Diderot: Living by the PenChapter 8: The Abbé Morellet: Between Publishing and PatronageChapter 9: Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Self-Deceived ClientagePart 3: Royal Administration and the Promise of Political EconomyChapter 10: Tocqueville’s Challenge: Royal Administration and the Rise of Civic EqualityChapter 11: Warfare, Taxes, and Administrative Centralization: The Double Bind of Royal FinanceChapter 12: Political Economy: A Solution to the Double Bind?Chapter 13: Navigating the Double Bind: Efforts at ReformConclusion: The Revolution and the Advent of Civic EqualityEpilogue: Civic Equality and the Continuing History of CapitalismAcknowledgmentsReferencesIndex