Chapter 7 4. Enlightenment is more sober

After the outbreak of the revolution in 1789, the first phase of the French Revolution was dominated by the constitutional monarchy, representing the interests of the big bourgeoisie and the free aristocracy.The revolution progressed further, and the Girondins, representing the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie, came to power.And then going a step further, the Jacobins, representing the petty and middle bourgeoisie, came to power.You can clearly see that, whether it is the Girondins or the Jacobins, their revolution has deviated from the normal track, and the Thermidorians are needed to bring the revolution back to the normal track.It can be seen that the constitutional monarchists and the Thermidorians actually represent the same class, both the big bourgeoisie and the financial aristocracy.Then came the Napoleon Empire. Although Napoleon was a bourgeois emperor and affirmed the revolutionary measures, he established an empire after all. The hierarchy, titles, and nobility were all restored, and the idea that all men were born equal was broken. up.After the defeat of the Napoleonic Empire, the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty appeared, and the revolution reached its lowest point.It has reached two extremes with the Jacobin dictatorship, so does it mean that the French Revolution is over at this point?No.It was not finished until 1830. In 1830, the "July Revolution" broke out in France, and the restored Bourbon dynasty was overthrown. A branch of the Bourbon dynasty, Duke of Orleans, Louis?Philip established the July Dynasty, a constitutional monarchy representing the interests of the big bourgeoisie, and the process of the French Revolution was considered to be over.

From 1789 to 1830, France completed a cycle.Everyone can clearly see the characteristics of the French Revolution—the starting point is the end point, and it came back after a circle. In the end, the big bourgeoisie was in power and the constitutional monarchy was established.In fact, the task of the French Revolution was completed in 1789. The early bourgeois revolution was to implement capitalist politics politically, formulate a constitution, establish a constitutional monarchy, and develop capitalism economically. This was accomplished when the Revolution broke out in 1789 and the constitutional monarchy came to power.France is not like the United Kingdom, which is isolated overseas. It is in a corner and does not have that much influence. If you close the door to revolution, no one cares about you.France can't do it, the anti-French alliance intervened armedly, so the French revolution was magnificent and ups and downs.But you have to come back after turning around. The end point is the starting point, and the starting point is the end point.For example, the best way for me to go from Gongzhufen to Jianguomen is to take Chang'an Avenue, a straight road with the shortest distance.However, traffic control on Chang'an Street, or too many red lights, often cause traffic jams.How to do it?I went around from the North 2nd Ring Road, and when I reached Jianguomen, I had to go back to Gongzhufen. The North 2nd Ring Road was also blocked, so I went back from the South 2nd Ring Road.It should be in a straight line, the distance is the shortest, but I am tired of traffic jams, so I can only go around, and the French Revolution is also such a feature.

The bourgeoisie in the United Kingdom, the United States and France, after gaining power through revolution, used legal means to consolidate their victorious fruits and achieved the goal of establishing a capitalist system and developing a capitalist economy.The reason why these three countries were the first to establish advanced systems in the world is due to their ideological enlightenment. In the 17th and 18th centuries, following the Renaissance in Europe, there was a second emancipation of thought, which was the Enlightenment.At this time, Europe happened to be at the time when the handicraft industry was at its most developed. As soon as the economy developed, the power of the bourgeoisie grew stronger.Ignorance is the only soil that produces autocracy, and the development of natural science at that time can sweep away ignorance, and it can also sweep away autocracy.For example, the Bible says that man was created by God. God created a man named Adam in his own image. Then he felt that Adam was bored by himself, so he poked out one of his ribs and made a woman, that is, Eve.According to this theory, men should have one less rib than women. Ribs are not fingernails, and they can grow if they are poked out. People have believed in this theory for thousands of years.With the Renaissance, human anatomy appeared, and when a man and a woman were cut apart, they had the same number of ribs.No, the man should have one less, because that one was used to make a woman.The appearance of human anatomy made people doubt the theory that God created man.Regardless of whether Darwin's theory is true or not, at least some people have doubts about God's creation of man.Therefore, the development of natural science can eliminate ignorance, and the elimination of ignorance can fight against autocracy.

The Enlightenment was the second emancipation of thought in Europe after the Renaissance.At the heart of the Enlightenment was rationalism.Reason is the reflection of natural law in the human mind, emphasizing the replacement of divine revelation and king's decree with human thinking.This is actually the simplest saying in Chinese: practice is the only criterion for testing truth.Be rational, don't believe what he says, you have to think independently if you have a brain.Whether it is the words of the king or the words of the "Bible", you have to check it.The Enlightenment emphasized the use of human rights to oppose kingship.At this time, the struggle and contradictions were directed at the feudal monarchy itself, and it was no longer an issue of anti-theocracy.Use democracy to fight against autocracy, use science to fight ignorance.

Several well-known Enlightenment thinkers emerged during this period. If you don’t understand what these people advocate, you will only stay in the Middle Ages in terms of thinking. The early representative of the Enlightenment was Spinoza of the Netherlands.He was born in a Jewish merchant family in Amsterdam, and his representative work is "Theological and Political Treatise".He believes that the purpose of politics is freedom, and that the purpose of the state is to protect human life and social security, and advocates the establishment of the state through contracts.He believes that democracy is the most natural and most compatible with individual freedom. He believes that only in democratic politics can all people be equal and can enjoy freedom of religious belief, thought and speech.His idea of ​​democracy contains the idea of ​​natural human rights.

The second is Hobbs of England.He advanced the idea of ​​a social contract, according to which the state was created.He believes that monarchy is bestowed by the people, and God's grant is not guaranteed, but man's grant is guaranteed.But he advocated that once the power is delegated to the monarch, he cannot go back on his word. This is a bit ridiculous. What power should I grant you?The power to serve the Lord.You didn't take good care of me, so it's very simple for someone else to serve me. Why can't I go back on my word after authorizing you?This point of view shows that he has limitations.

The third famous Enlightenment thinker is Locke of England.His proposition is much more progressive than that of Hobbes. After a long bourgeois revolution in the second half of the 17th century, Britain finally achieved a political compromise between the bourgeoisie and the feudal forces.After the revolution, Locke defended the Glorious Revolution and the politics of the bourgeois new aristocracy after the turmoil ended and the new government was established. Locke published two "On Government" successively to express his democratic ideas. Locke believed that in the state of nature, everyone is free and equal, and no one can violate the freedom and life of others.He summarized the various demands put forward by people during the revolutionary period as the right to liberty, property and life, and systematically put forward the theory of natural human rights.He also believes that the people form a government through mutual agreement and a social contract, the purpose of which is to protect the natural rights of life, liberty, and property that people are born with.He opposed absolute monarchy and believed that the power of the monarch came from the people rather than God.

Locke believed that the purpose of establishing a state is to protect private property.This is the place where European cattle are located. During the Roman Empire, a minister committed a crime. The emperor could kill the minister, but he could not confiscate his property.The son of the minister used his family property to recruit the dead and attacked the emperor, so he made the emperor, so the emperor had to think carefully before killing the minister, whether he was worried about others retaliation against you.The emperor of China didn't have such worries, and he confiscated his family and lost his property.Confiscate your home before killing you. The whole family was sent to Ningguta, where they became slaves to armored men. After 40 years, the new emperor ascends the throne and amnesties the world. Come back and stay in the Beijing Dazayuan. You have changed from a duke to a camel Xiangzi. If you want to rebel, there is no way.Why did the Chinese emperor dare to be autocratic, because the cost is low.Why not in Europe?Try being despotic. Once the British king is despotism, people put swords on their necks. This has been the case in Europe since ancient times. Private property is sacred and inviolable.

In order to prevent government autocracy and abuse of power, Locke proposed the theory of separation of powers. Legislative power belongs to parliament, and administrative and diplomatic affairs belong to the monarch. This is a typical dual constitutional monarchy.But he believes that national sovereignty belongs to the people, and the legislative power representing the people should be separated from the executive power exercised by the monarch, with the former higher than the latter. Locke's political principles of freedom, rule of law, and separation of powers had a profound impact on the Enlightenment, the American War of Independence, the French Revolution, and Western democratic politics.In particular, his theory of separation of powers and checks and balances has been transformed and developed by the French Enlightenment thinker Montesquieu, and has become a basic principle of Western democratic politics.

In the 18th century, France gathered the great achievements of the Enlightenment Movement, and gave birth to many brilliant thought giants, pushing the Enlightenment Movement to its climax. The first was Voltaire.This person looks like an old lady, and art students draw him every day.There are two main points in his ideological proposition: in favor of a constitutional monarchy and against the Catholic Church.At this time, it is not that the theocracy will not be reversed, but it is still endless.The French are quite funny, whether it is a royal party or a nobleman's salon, Voltaire's works are the most popular, and everyone is proud to read Voltaire's works first.I am literate and I read this.Voltaire's play was staged, and the king applauded politely. What was the content of this play?Against despotism and kingship, the king still applauds.If the king slaps the table and scolds, he has no quality and no culture.Frederick the Great of Prussia and Empress Catherine of Russia were proud to have corresponded with Voltaire. I am a student of Voltaire, and Voltaire wrote back to me, very excited.Voltaire, as a national teacher, taught the monarchs of all countries to oppose feudalism, anti-autocracy, and constitutional monarchy.This person is about to put Daqing to death ten thousand times.

The second is even more remarkable, the French "Mencius" Montesquieu.Montesquieu proposed the separation of powers, which is a step further than Locke's theory of separation of powers.He believes that the power of the country should be divided into legislative power, executive power and judicial power. The king can only exercise executive power, and the legislative power and judicial power should belong to the parliament and the court; the three powers are separated and check and balance each other.He also believes that the laws of the country cannot violate human reason, and the law should be the embodiment of reason.His representative work is "On the Spirit of Law".Montesquieu's theory laid the theoretical foundation of the bourgeoisie on state and law. Why separation of powers?Power checks and balances each other.Our China has reformed and opened up for more than 30 years, mainly in economic reforms.At that time in France, scholars and elites wrote letters to the imperial court, demanding that the imperial court implement constitutional reforms.Separation of the three powers in constitutional reform is difficult, but at least one thing should be achieved—judicial independence. Only with an independent judiciary can there be a fair judiciary.Is it reasonable for the people to sue the government and win the case?Think about it, they are all run by their family, where can they go to reason? Mr. Chen Daoming, a performance artist, acted in a TV series called, he played the role of a mafia boss who dealt in drugs, his father was the deputy mayor, and the police chief wanted to arrest him, so his father colluded with the court and sentenced the police chief to 10 years in prison .This kind of thing is unimaginable in foreign countries. How can the deputy mayor guide the court? The court has nothing to do with you. You have administrative power, and others have judicial power.A county court in the United States can issue a subpoena to the president. The president may not come, but you have to send a lawyer to court.What if the president says a broken county court summons me?ignore him!Then you're in big trouble, and contempt of court is not a small crime.Power certainly corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.Why are democracies less corrupt?Because he dare not.Who wouldn't be tempted to stare at Bai Yinzi with black eyes?But he knew he couldn't take that thing. Look at Clinton, that flirtatious affair made the city full of storms, and he had an affair with that fat girl, Xiao Lai, and was found out. He refused to admit it at first, but was forced to admit it later.Congress impeached him and let him go.China has been like this since ancient times, the emperor only has one concubine, so is he still called the emperor?But absolutely not in the United States, no one cares about the common people, but not the president, if you are not loyal to your family, how can you be loyal to your country?Why does the United States put morality so high? If you lie to your wife about this, it will be a joke if you lie to the people in the future. If you lie to the people, your quality will be left there.The president was impeached because of this incident and almost never stepped down. What would happen if Clinton put tens of millions of dollars in his pocket?Then go straight to prison.Didn't President Nixon resign because of the "Watergate Incident"? There is a famous quote in Montesquieu's masterpiece "The Spirit of Law": A citizen's political freedom is a state of peace of mind, and this state of peace of mind starts from the perspective that everyone thinks that he himself is safe. , in order to enjoy this liberty, there must be such a government under which one citizen is not afraid of another. What is "a citizen's political freedom is a state of peace of mind"?What is "under its rule a citizen is not afraid of another citizen"?That is, everyone is equal.I dared to yell to knock down someone on the street because I thought that after I finished yelling, I would not be knocked down or beaten, and my state of mind was peaceful.During World War II, U.S. President Roosevelt emphasized the four basic freedoms of man: freedom of speech, freedom of belief, freedom from hunger, and freedom from fear.This is a natural human right. I have this mouth which was endowed to me by the Creator. Apart from eating, that is to say, if you don’t let me speak, one of my functions is gone.I enjoy this freedom, which proves that I have peace of mind. I think I am safe, because in our system, one citizen is not afraid of another citizen, and you will not do anything because you scold the president.I held up a sign in front of the White House: Bush is a monkey.President Bush can sue me, but he may not win the case, because if he wants to sue me, he must prove that I am a monkey and malicious.Then the police came to arrest me, and the president sued you. You said he was a monkey. When the sign was turned over, there was a sentence behind it: because I like monkeys. Peace of mind is rare. President Reagan was assassinated in 1981. At that time, the son of a billionaire in the United States was named Hinckley. A billionaire in 1981, compared to Bill today?Gates has more cows.This kid was chasing a Hollywood star. I forgot what that aunt's name was, so I didn't catch up.People look down on him because he is so poor that he has only money left.He said that I am a man, and I will show you an earth-shattering event, killing the president.At that time, the President's security was very lax, because there had been no terrorist attacks.A bullet hit the president's aging body. President Reagan was 69 years old when he was elected and 70 years old when he was assassinated.The bullet was less than 1 centimeter away from the heart, and the president would be over if it missed a little bit.The president went to the hospital, and the second generation went to prison.His trial started, this dude is rich, a billionaire, at that time (in the early 1980s) spent 1 million dollars to hire a barrister, produced all kinds of evidence, and finally argued that Hinckley shot He was insane for a moment, he was fine before, and he was insanity after the beating. In medicine, this is called intermittent insanity. According to the authoritative medical appraisal certificate, the judge gave the hammer and he was acquitted.The President is still out of the hospital, but Hinckley is out of prison (sent to a mental hospital for treatment).The president's wife is very angry, what is this called?The president comforted him and respected the court's ruling. I think it's unlucky to be insane, and I'll put on a bulletproof vest next time I go out.I think that buddy is really out of his mind, why are you a normal person who has nothing to do to assassinate the president?You are angry, you go and kill the actress, and the president didn't recruit you. When I was in elementary school or junior high school, the political class talked about the corruption of the capitalist system. Just take this example. Look at how chaotic the United States is, and it’s okay to assassinate the president.Now you think that’s how democratic politics is, poor people don’t go after Hollywood stars, they don’t need to kill the president, it’s true that a citizen is not afraid of another citizen before the law.The Arc de Triomphe square in Paris radiates 13 avenues. As soon as the traffic light is cleared, the cars on the 13 avenues rush in. If the car hits the Arc de Triomphe square, the insurance company will not compensate you. I will pay for hitting the ground.When I visited the Arc de Triomphe, all 13 roads were banned.Look at the gentle and elegant French, the horn is louder than when Beijing is stuck in a traffic jam. Beijingers honk their horns when they have something to do, but the French don't.At that time, the leader of Turkey passed by, and the special car was driving fast, and it took less than 5 minutes to circle around. The French couldn't bear it, so they got out of the car and scolded the police.An old man in the car in front opened the door and yelled at a pretty little black policewoman. I didn't know what to say, I couldn't understand, the yelling was so loud that the policeman kept nodding and bowing.Do you dare to stay here?You kid wants to have your driver's license revoked, don't you?A citizen is not afraid of another citizen.What do the police do?It serves the people and is supported by my taxpayers. You don't care about me.Everyone here is in charge of you, even the food seller in the canteen is in charge of you. He has no sense of service.I always want to thank this or that, but actually I just need to thank my parents, who raised me up.We are taxpayers, we pay taxes to the country, we feed those people who don’t work and have no sense of service, and don’t pay taxes, who pays them wages?What do they live on?The truth should be like this. The third is Rousseau.Rousseau was born in a family of watchmakers in Geneva and worked as an apprentice. In addition to his masterpieces, there are "Emile", "Emile", etc.He believes that in the state of nature before the establishment of the country, all people are born equal, which is the right that nature bestows on everyone.But with the development of society, especially the emergence of private ownership, people have inequality.In one book, he profoundly expounded the idea of ​​"sovereignty lies in the people" based on the theory of "natural human rights".He declared that "man is born free."He believes that the sovereignty of the country belongs to the people, and the power of the ruler comes from the contract he signed with the people. If he violates the will of the people, the people have the right to overthrow him.Once published, it produced strong social repercussions and became the basic spirit of the Declaration of Human Rights. Rousseau enthusiastically advocated the theory of social contract and popular sovereignty.People's sovereignty means that the power of the country belongs to the people.Rousseau's views are very radical. He often said that "the flower of liberty must be watered with the blood of a tyrant in order to grow strong." Therefore, the French Revolution was a bit excessive and radical. It has a lot to do with Rousseau's propaganda and agitation. The fourth is Diderot, who edited a famous "Encyclopedia". This "Encyclopedia" is a typical use of scientific methods to fight ignorance.Don't believe in those ignorant things. If there is any reason you don't understand, just read my "Encyclopedia" and you will understand.Of course, this "Encyclopedia" may seem absurd in some places to us today, but at that time, it did represent the most advanced ideology and culture. The Enlightenment also spread to other countries and was further developed.The German philosopher Kant, author of other works, made a more thorough philosophical discussion on rationality in the Enlightenment.He emphasized the importance of people, proposing that people are people, not a tool for any purpose.His rational critical philosophy finally established the status of human subject. There are also two famous Enlightenment thinkers in North America, Franklin and Jefferson. The Enlightenment Movement was another ideological emancipation movement in European history. It enriched and developed the connotation of the humanistic spirit, promoted the struggle against feudalism and anti-religious theology to oppose the feudal autocracy, established the kingdom of bourgeois reason, and constructed a new society according to the interests of the bourgeoisie. The height of the democratic political system.It depicts the blueprint of the future kingdom of reason.We know that it is easy to break an old order, but it is difficult to establish a new one.The Renaissance may be more on the level of "breaking", while the Enlightenment is mainly on the level of "standing".Natural human rights, separation of powers, social contract theory, and popular sovereignty theory, using these methods, the country can enjoy long-term stability.Hundreds of years of historical development have proved this point. Under the influence of the Enlightenment, a vigorous revolution broke out in France, which overthrew the autocratic dynasty, established the rule of the bourgeoisie, and spread the ideas of freedom and equality.Why was the French Revolution so massive?Why is it so magnificent and ups and downs?The reason lies in the thorough influence of Enlightenment thought on it. The influence of the Enlightenment went far beyond the scope of Europe, which greatly inspired the struggle of the colonial and semi-colonial people for national independence.Enlightenment thinking has become a spiritual weapon for people to pursue liberation, and has played an important role in the development of human history. China's 1911 Revolution was obviously influenced by the Enlightenment Movement.The national flags of many countries in the world today are composed of three colors of red, white and blue because they symbolize freedom, equality and fraternity, which is the spirit of the Enlightenment Movement and the spirit of the French Revolution.The national flags of France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Serbia, and Russia are red, white, and blue, but there are horizontal ones and vertical ones, red, white, blue, white, blue, and red, with darker colors and lighter colors.The British flag is also red, white and blue, as is the United States. During the Enlightenment, the European capitalist economy developed.Manufacture was the main form of production organization in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, and it was manual labor for the purpose of producing commodities based on the division of labor.The handicraft workers in the period of manufacture, or manual workers, are not the proletariat in the modern sense.What they felt was mainly the oppression from the autocratic dynasty, and the contradiction with the bourgeoisie was not obvious, but together with the peasants and the urban poor, they constituted the main force of the bourgeois revolution.For example, in France, both the worker and his boss belong to the third class, and what they feel is the oppression of the king. There are two models for the development of rural capitalism, one is the British model - the enclosure movement, and the other is the French model - allocating land to farmers.The land enclosure movement in Britain is "a typical capitalist mode of production, which separates laborers from the means of production, that is, farmers lose their land, instead of combining the two and distributing land to farmers."The land enclosure movement in the UK drove the peasants away from the land. The peasants were separated from the means of production and had nothing but to sell their labor for a living. So this is a typical capitalist mode of production.On the other hand, looking at France, farmers are allocated land, which means that farmers are actually fixed on the land. Once farmers are fixed on the land, they form the most typical mode of agricultural production in France, the capitalist small-scale peasant economy. Obviously not conducive to industrial development. The ideas of the Enlightenment also influenced the independence movement in Latin America and the feudal countries in Asia.After independence, Latin America cannot be compared with North America. One reason is that the economic base is different.It turns out that the United Kingdom ruled North America. It is a capitalist economy, and its political system is like a governor and a parliament.And "two teeth (Spain and Portugal)" ruled Latin America, "two teeth" is a feudal country, politically a feudal autocracy, economically a large feudal plantation, generally speaking, after the independence of colonial countries, it will only copy The ruling mode of the suzerain country, like the United States moved to the United Kingdom, but Latin America can only move "two teeth".Therefore, after independence, Latin American countries were basically oligarchic dictatorships politically. Although they were republics, they were actually military dictatorships. In addition, the War of Independence was fought by soldiers, so there would be no people like Washington.Economically, it is a large feudal plantation, and slavery is still preserved.The first independent country in the Americas was the United States, and the first independent country in Latin America was Haiti.The United States is the most developed country in the world, and Haiti is one of the 48 least developed countries announced by the United Nations (as of 2011), and our Chinese police are there to maintain peace.Looking at what the Haitians eat, cakes mixed with soil cost 8 pieces per dollar. I have never eaten soil cakes, and I don’t want to eat them. Maybe my life will be gone. How does the soil digest it?You are neither an ant nor an earthworm.Look at the United States, then look at Haiti, the difference is worlds!The invasion of Western countries has indeed brought us serious disasters, but we have to admit that objectively it has also spread civilization. An important reason for Latin America to achieve national independence is that its opponents are relatively weak.During the Napoleonic Wars, the Bourbon royal family in Spain was overthrown, and Napoleon sent his brother to Spain as king.The Bragancha dynasty of Portugal went into exile in Brazil, and Brazil saw that you still ruled me, so you came to me in exile.So it was very interesting later on. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Bragancha dynasty was restored, and the king returned to Portugal, leaving his prince Pedro as the regent of Brazil. In 1822, Prince Pedro declared Brazil's independence and established the Brazilian Empire. He was Emperor Pedro I of the Brazilian Empire and gave up the Portuguese throne.The Portuguese prince declared the independence of Brazil, which is a lot to do.