Chapter 16 Chapter 12 Political Revolution (Part 2)

The French Revolution looms much higher on the stage of world history than the American Revolution or the American Revolution.It caused more economic and social change than those earlier upheavals, and affected a larger part of the world.The French Revolution marked not only the victory of the bourgeoisie, but the full awakening of the hitherto dormant masses.While middle-class liberalism has gained attention, so has nationalism, which appeals to all classes of people.These people, who had been on the sides of the stage for a long time, now strode to the front of the stage and have remained there ever since.In other words, it was in France that the world first felt strongly and distinctly the earthquake that still rumbles under our feet to this day.

Why did this huge change happen in France?The basic reason lies in the fact that France, the homeland of the Enlightenment, was not ruled by an enlightened despot until Napoleon came to power.France is thus a country so incompetent and unjust that its governing institutions creak to a standstill.It was this stagnation that gave the ambitious and disaffected bourgeoisie the opportunity to successfully seize power. This pattern is clearly perceptible in the fiscal crisis that was the immediate cause of the revolutionary outbreak. In 1789, the French government's debt amounted to almost 4 billion livres; its value was roughly close to the $4 billion after World War II.It was a heavy burden, but by no means unprecedented or inconsistent with the national debts of other countries at the time.It amounts, for example, to only half the national debt of Great Britain, and if apportioned per capita, it is less than one-fifth as heavy.France, however, could not afford this debt burden because its two privileged classes, the clergy and the nobility, were largely tax-exempt.

The old regime in France was aristocratic in its organization.All French people legally belonged to a certain "class" or social class, and this membership determined their legal rights and privileges.The first class is made up of the clergy, who total about 100,000 out of a total population of 24.5 million.The second class consisted of nobles, totaling about 400,000.The third class included everyone else—more than 20 million farmers, and about 4 million urban merchants and artisans.Thus, the first two classes account for only 2% of the total population.However, they own about 35% of the land and enjoy most of the benefits of a government protector.Despite these disproportionate benefits, they were exempted from almost all taxes; indeed, they considered it demeaning to pay taxes.

Thus, the tax burden fell on the shoulders of the third estate, especially the peasants.The latter account for more than 80% of the population but own only 30% of the land.Moreover, farmers had to pay tithes on agricultural products to the church, various feudal taxes to the nobles, and land taxes, income taxes, poll taxes and other taxes to the state.This tax burden was particularly onerous because the general price level rose by 65 percent between 1720 and 1789, while the prices of agricultural products lagged far behind. Artisans in the cities are also disaffected, as their wages have risen by only 22% over the above-mentioned decades.The bourgeoisie, by contrast, were not taxed poor because they were better able to protect themselves than artisans and peasants.Moreover, most merchants profited from rising prices, which increased French trade fivefold between 1713 and 1789.However, the bourgeoisie was extremely dissatisfied with the old regime.They resented being snubbed by the nobility, treated as second-class subjects by the royal family, and excluded from high positions in the bureaucracy, church, and army.In short, the bourgeoisie wanted political power and social prestige commensurate with their growing economic power.

When the upheavals began, the nature of the old regime in France was as described above.The French Revolution, like other revolutions throughout the ages, began modestly and gradually became more and more radical.In fact, it began not in 1789 as a bourgeois revolution, but in 1787 as an aristocratic revolution.It then turns to the left through the bourgeois and mass phases until a reaction takes place that brings Napoleon to power. The nobles started the revolution because they wanted to restore the political power they had lost to the Crown during the 16th and 17th centuries.The king's governors have replaced the noble governors, and the king's officials have controlled all levels of government in the country.The power of the monarchs was reflected in the fact that from 16j4 onwards they did not bother to call a third class, the National Assembly.It is understandable, therefore, that when Louis XIII found himself in financial difficulty due to the large expenditures he had undertaken in support of the American Revolution, the aristocracy sought to use the opportunity to restore power.

In 1787, when Louis tried to impose a flat tax on all estates regardless of the social status of the occupants, nobles and clergy pressed Louis to make decisions about power.The privileged classes denounced the new tax as illegal, declaring that only the entire nation assembled in the House of Commons could enact such drastic changes.The lack of money was so severe that the king finally relented and promised to hold a council of estates in the spring of 1789.The nobles thought they could control the council and regain their political dominance.However, their estimates turned out to be completely wrong.The convening of the House of Commons resulted not in the victory of the nobility, but in the raising of a great revolutionary wave; a wave that would sweep away the established institutions and ruling classes in France and much of Europe.

The Conference of the Three Estates, held at Versailles on May 5, 1789, did not represent the French people, but the three estates as they had previously been divided.Right from the start, the third rank proved to be the most animated and decisive.The third level has a superiority in numbers, with 600 representatives, while the other two levels have 300 representatives each.In fact, the third estate is more represented than the other two estates combined, because not only some clergy, but also some emancipated nobles (such as the Marquis of Lafayette, who fought for the revolutionary cause in the United States), were associated with the third estate. The three ranks stand together.Representatives of the middle class also have an advantage in possessing ideas.They knew that they wanted to change the old regime in France, and had at least grasped from the writings of the philosophers a general idea of ​​how this change should be effected.They also have the cash that the government desperately needs, and they don't hesitate to use this powerful weapon to fight for all kinds of rights and interests that they want.

The plebs won their first victory by forcing King Louis to convert the House of Commons into a National Assembly.This is an extremely important change, because as long as decisions are made on a class basis, the third class will always be a three-in-one minority.And once the representatives of the three estates united to form the National Assembly, the common people (including their allies in the other two camps) were in the majority.King Louis, a rather foolish and unimaginative man, hesitated at first on this crucial issue, and then insisted on maintaining the traditional hierarchy.But when the populace boldly rebelled against him and declared itself the National Assembly, Louis capitulated on June 23, directing the merger of the three estates into one.

The king's concession did not signal a change of heart.He continued to heed the advice of the so-called "Queenists" - the reactionary advisers of Maria Antoinette.Showing the true intentions of the king, he dismissed Jacques Necker on July 11, since this minister was considered the most pro-reform.Meanwhile, several regiments of the loyal Royal Army were secretly transferred to Versailles.Rumors spread that the King was preparing to dissolve Parliament by force.And, nothing seems to stop the king from doing so.A king has a bayonet, but a commoner has only tongue and determination.However, at this critical juncture, the civilians in the National Assembly were saved by an uprising of the Parisian populace.The masses intervened decisively and launched the third, mass stage of the revolution.

The people who saved the French Revolution at this time were not street pariahs.In fact, they were petty bourgeois, made up of shopkeepers and workshop owners.They spread the word, organized demonstrations, and their illiterate employees and employees followed their lead.The revolution broke out after Necker was removed from office.The lower classes flooded the streets, demanding cheaper bread and parading with a bust of Necker in mourning. On July 14, they stormed and demolished the Bartudi, an old royal castle in Paris used as a prison.The event itself was of no practical use, as the Bastille was rarely used by this time.It housed seven inmates, two of whom were mentally ill, four were fraudsters, and the seventh was a perverted young man entrusted by his family to be guarded and paid for.However, the Bastille, a symbol of oppression in the minds of the populace, was destroyed at this time.This is why "Batudi Day" is still celebrated in France as "Independence Day" is in the United States.

The fall of the Bastille marked the people on the stage of history.Their intervention saved the bourgeoisie, which henceforth had to rely on the lower classes of the streets to provide "a revolution" at critical moments.Such moments occurred many times in later years, as when the bourgeoisie struggled for power against the king, against the privileged classes, and finally against the old order of the whole of Europe. Popular revolutions took place not only in Paris, but also in the countryside.The peasants, spurred on by their long-standing misery, were spurred on by the exciting news of the breaking of the Bastille.Take up arms.In many parts of the countryside they tore down fences, seized land, and burned manor houses.Faced with this revolutionary situation, the nobles and priests in the National Assembly had to bow to reality and vote together with the common people for the abolition of the feudal system.In the famous "August Days" of 1789, statutes were passed abolishing all feudal taxes, tax-free privileges, the Church's right to tithe, and the exclusive right of nobility to hold public office.Prominent among the many other important measures enacted by the National Assembly were the confiscation of ecclesiastical lands, the reform of the judicial and administrative systems, and the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizenship. The Declaration articulated fundamental principles of liberty, property, and security—“As far as their rights are concerned, all men are born free and equal, and remain so...The State is in essence the source of all sovereignty...The law is the public the expression of the will of the people ... freedom consists in the power to do whatever does not harm others ..." The last clause shows that the bourgeoisie has not lost control of the direction of the revolution: "The right of property is sacrosanct except in the No one should be deprived of this right when the public needs of the people are legally established and previously prescribed damages are just.” This manifesto was the fundamental tenet of the revolution.It was, in the words of one French historian, the death certificate of the ancien regime.The manifesto was printed as numerous leaflets.Pamphlets, books, and translations into other languages ​​allowed the revolutionary slogan of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" to spread throughout Europe and eventually the entire world. King Louis was by no means willing to accept the radical reforms and revolutionary principles of the Declaration of August 4th.He told an archbishop; "I will never allow my clergy or nobles to be robbed. I will not authorize a decree to rob them." Once again the lower classes of Paris overcame the opposition of the royal family.The hostility of the king, and the shortage of food supplies in Paris, aroused popular struggles. In early October, starving masses, mainly women, attacked bakeries in Paris and then marched on the royal palace at Versailles.Under the pressure of these people, Louis agreed to return the court to Paris.The crowd marched back jubilantly, boasting that they had brought "the baker, the baker's wife, and children."Members of the royal family lived in the Tuileries (a palace in Paris), where they became virtual prisoners, while the National Assembly was housed in a nearby cavalry school. These tumultuous days in October secured the approval of the August decree.The influence of the populace in Paris is greatly increased these days, as the royal family and the National Assembly are swayed by popular actions. Although the king of Paris was virtually powerless, many clergy and nobles were determined to regain their lost status and privileges.Some of them fled abroad, where they endeavored to involve foreign powers in disputes against the revolutionary regime in France.They succeeded, though it should be noted that the radical wing of the National Assembly, the Girondins, also favored the war, because the latter believed that a republic could thus be established in France and that revolutionary doctrine could spread throughout Europe.War broke out in April 1792, with Austria and Prussia siding against France.Initially, the poorly equipped French were routed, but countless volunteers flocked to the French flag in a wave of nationwide patriotism.Meanwhile, the populace of Paris joined forces against the unpopular Louis and his hated Austrian queen, Mariegie Antoinette.Under popular pressure, the National Assembly temporarily suspended the king's powers on August 10 and called on people to participate in the election of the National Convention. The National Convention, universally elected by men, met on September 21, 1792, and achieved brilliant success in resolving the most pressing problem, namely, the defense of the Fatherland against the Austro-Prussian invaders.The combination of revolutionary energy and popular support proved irresistible, and the Prussians and Austrians were driven from the frontier. In 1793, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Spain joined an alliance against France.The revolutionaries responded with what became known as general mobilization.One orator spoke impassionedly: "Let every man do his part in the ongoing national military effort. The youth will fight, the married will forge arms...provide, the women will Soldiers make clothes...go to hospitals to nurse the wounded, children will make lint for bandages from old linen...old men will be sent into public squares to inspire courage in young warriors, to preach hatred of kings and The unity of the republic." The people rose to defend the fatherland. Under the command of young generals who were born in the army, 14 armies rushed to the battlefield.Inspired by the revolutionary slogan of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity", the French civilian army advanced with great momentum.By 1795, the enemy alliance had been shattered. At the time, the Convention turned increasingly to the left, in part not only because it was universally elected by men but also because the war effort aroused revolutionary enthusiasm.By June 1793, the Girondins had been replaced by the more radical Jacobins.At this time, the dominant governing body was the National Salvation Committee.With revolutionary zeal and fervent patriotism, this council appointed and dismissed generals, inspired masses to heroic deeds, conducted foreign policy, legislated on countless issues, and suppressed rebellion through a period of merciless terror.Many, many people were charged with treason or simply for lack of patriotism and sent to the guillotine, or the "National Razor," as it was called at the time. But the reign of terror got out of hand and the revolution began to "devour its own children".In the constant struggle for power, one revolutionary leader after another was guillotined after Louis and Antoinette.Equally disturbing for the bourgeoisie was the growing revolutionary social radicalism.Sansculottes (literally, people who lack the shorts of high society) are pressing for a more egalitarian state.They were the equalizers of the British Revolution, and they demanded a more equitable distribution of land, government control of prices and wages, and a social security system.Such measures are completely beyond the plans of the French bourgeoisie.Therefore, the French bourgeoisie, like the British bourgeoisie, worked hard to prevent the revolution from developing to the left.In Britain, the result was that the Meanists were defeated and Cromwell ruled.In France, the sans-culottes came under the control of a five-member Directory in 1795 and then under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. Napoleon gained popularity as a general with great success in Italy, and he used his popularity to overthrow the Directory.He ruled France first as First Consul from 1799 to 1804 and then as Emperor from 1804 to 1814.For our purposes it is worth noting that his 15-year reign over France was marked by two features: domestic reforms and military campaigns.The former consolidated the gains of the revolution; the latter provoked two nationalist reactions in neighboring countries and eventually led to his downfall. As far as domestic policy was concerned, Napoleon was comparable to an enlightened despot.He was interested in technical efficiency rather than abstract ideology.Although he exercised a dictatorship over the country, he effectively ruled the country.He codified the laws, centralized the executive, organized the national education system, established the Bank of France, and concluded an agreement with the Pope on the relationship between Church and State in France.These tangible achievements of Napoleon endowed him with universal popularity.There were political opponents eager to restore the ancien régime or who believed Napoleon had betrayed the revolution, but most cheered him for ending the riots and establishing a credible, strong government. Napoleon squandered this goodwill by constantly waging war.As a military genius, he achieved amazing success.By 1810, at the height of his success, he had stretched the frontiers of France across the Rhine to Lübeck and across the Alps to Rome.The rest of Europe consisted of French satellites or allies, only Great Britain remained independent and greatly hostile. Napoleon implemented some of the basic principles of the French Revolution in all his conquests.He abolished feudalism and serfdom, recognized the equality of all citizens, and enforced his famous code of laws.These reforms meant progress, or at least restoration.While the changes were opposed by deeply restless vested interests everywhere, they also enjoyed widespread support in many places.The bourgeoisie and many intellectuals favored these changes not only in some areas where they lived, but also outside France.French rule was progressive, but the fact remained that it was an alien rule, imposed where necessary by force. On December 15, 1792, the National Convention passed a decree, which stated: "The French state declares that anyone who, by rejecting or abandoning liberty and equality, wishes to maintain, restore or treat the monarchy and privileged classes They are treated as enemies." This is bossy, but Napoleon was even more bossy and demanding with his subjects.His non-French subjects were finally growing weary of acquisitions, taxes, conscription, wars, and rumors of wars.French dominion usually meant an increase in the quality of administration, but the time came when people were more impressed by the French nature of administration than by its quality. In other words, these people had become nationalists, and their nationalism had grown into a movement against Napoleon's rule.This explains not only the turmoil in Italy, the armed resistance in Spain, and the growing national unity in Germany, but also the heartfelt words of an Italian patriot who wrote in 1814: "It pains me to say this, For no one is more conscious of our gratitude to Napoleon than I am, no one knows better than I the value of every drop of generous French blood that moistens and revitalizes the Italian soil, but enough, I must say the truth : It was a huge, unspeakable joy to see the Frenchman go." Most fatal to Napoleon was the fierce resistance he encountered from all walks of life in Russia when he invaded Russia in 1812.This resistance, like ice and snow, caused the catastrophic destruction of Napoleon's army.Beginning on the frozen plains of Russia, Napoleon's career plummeted and inevitably ended on the island of Elba.Thus, the ideology of French Gelut was counterproductive to its founder.The people Napoleon "offended" were first awakened and enthused by the slogans of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" and then turned against their mentors when they betrayed their principles. The Vienna Solution The Congress of Vienna convened in 1815 to recreate the map of Europe after the fall of Napoleon; three principles guided this conference - legitimacy, containment and compensation.According to the principles of legitimacy, the monarchs of France, Spain, Holland and Italy were restored to the throne.According to the principle of containment, the countries bordering France should become as powerful as possible.Holland received Belgium, Austria Lombardy and Veneto, Prussia, in addition to parts of Saxony, some areas along the Rhine.The victorious allies compensated themselves with various territories - Norway to Sweden, Malta, Ceylon and the Cape of Good Hope to Great Britain, Finland, Bessarabia and most of Poland's subdivisions to Russia, Dalmatia and Galicia (and Lombardy and Veneto) to Austria.In anticipating later events, it should be noted that Germany and Italy are still divided: Germany is a loose German Confederation of 39 states; In the command position occupied by Lombardy and Veneto, it was ruled by Austria. What are the implications for world history of the three great revolutions we have studied—the English, the American, and the French?The best answer to this question was given by an illiterate Greek partisan leader who led his countrymen against the Turkish overlord in 1821.He declared: "In my opinion, the French Revolution and Napoleon's actions made the world know the truth of the world. Before, the peoples of the world knew very little about the situation. Do whatever you do well. With this change now, it's more difficult to rule people." In this plain language, the guerrilla leader summed up the essence of not only the French Revolution, but also the British and American Revolutions.We have seen how Learburn, Paine, and Robespierre, and the Means, the Reservists, and the Sansculottes, have brought the truth of the world to the world.Knowing the truth about the world means a profound political revolution.It marked the first time in history that active, organized masses began to devote themselves to politics.This revolution manifested itself in many of the doctrines that flourished in the nineteenth century.In the remainder of this chapter we shall examine three of these - nationalism, liberalism, and socialism - which have since exerted the greatest influence on the course of European and world history. Nationalism is a phenomenon in modern European history.It did not exist in a recognizable form in the Middle Ages.In the Middle Ages, all Western Christians belonged to the Catholic Church, and all educated people spoke Latin; the Roman Empire's universalism existed in the Catholic Church, in Latin, and in the Holy Roman Empire, although the Holy Roman Empire was a crumbling country.Thus, in those centuries, the loyalty of the populace to the state was unknown.Most people, on the contrary, consider themselves Christians first, residents of a certain place like Berdy or Cornwall second, and only last—if the truth is to be said—French or English. Three developments have gradually altered this measure of loyalty.One development was the rise of various dialects and the use of these dialects in literary expression.Another development is the secession of several national churches from the Catholic Church. A final development was the establishment and consolidation of several independent great states of the same nature by the dynasties of Western Europe—England, France, Spain, Portugal, and Denmark.These developments laid the groundwork for the rise of nationalism, although it should be noted that until the end of the eighteenth century people confused the state with the monarch himself.Luther, for example, believed that "bishops and princes" constituted Germany, while Louis XIV declared that the French state "belongs exclusively to the king himself." Nationalism did not assume its modern form until the eighteenth century, when the bourgeoisie in Western Europe began to share or gain full power.The Western European bourgeoisie shared or obtained all power in the name of the state, so the state was no longer the king, the king's territory, and the king's subjects.More precisely, the state was then composed of citizens (only property-owning citizens before the end of the nineteenth century) "who lived in a common area, had a voice in their common government, and were aware of their common heritage (imagined or real) and its common interests.” This modern form of nationalism received its greatest boost during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic period.To escape the onslaught of the old regimes in Europe, the leaders of the revolution had to mobilize the National Army - an army of politically conscious citizens who were happy and eager to fight for their country.The French Revolution also contributed to the growth of nationalism in several other ways.It required all French citizens to speak French, the "central or national language", in lieu of many regional dialects.It created a network of public primary schools to teach French and instill a love of country.The French Revolution also promoted the publication of newspapers, pamphlets, and periodicals; these were written in a crude and popular way, and thus made a deep impression on the people of the country.In addition, the French Revolution created nationalist rituals and symbols like the flag, national anthem, and national festivals. All these developments allow nationalism to override traditional obligations to religion and region.The nature and extent of this new loyalty to the country is reflected in the following letter from a young Jacobin soldier to his mother in 1793: As we mentioned earlier, this sense of national connection spread from France to its neighbors.It spread to neighboring countries through the natural diffusion of nationalist ideology and, also, as a reaction to French aggression and domination.Nationalism was further promoted by the Industrial Revolution, which, with its new tools of mass communication, made possible the effective and all-encompassing teaching of citizens.Nationalism thus became a major factor in the history of Europe in the nineteenth century, and later in the history of the world in the 20th century.However, as the nineteenth century wore on, the nature of nationalism changed.It began as a humane, tolerant creed based not on competing nationalist movements but on the concept of brotherhood.But it became increasingly chauvinistic and militaristic in the second half of the nineteenth century, due to the influence of Social Darwinism, and to the success of Bismarck with Machiavellian diplomacy and what he called "iron and blood" warfare. Unified Germany. Nationalism manifested itself strongly immediately after 1815, when the settlement of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 left millions of people of some nationalities either divided or subjected to alien domination.This was the case with the Germans, Italians, Belgians, Norwegians, and many peoples of the Habsburg and Ottoman empires.The inevitable result was that after 1815, a series of national resistance movements broke out in various parts of Europe.The Greeks staged a successful uprising in 1821, winning independence from the Turks.Likewise, the Belgians revolted in 1830 and got rid of Dutch rule.The Italians created an independent, united state between 1859 and 1871 after three futile uprisings in 1820, 1830, and 1848.The Germans, under the leadership of Prussia, defeated Austria in 1866, France in 1870-1871, and then established their German Empire. By 1871, nationalist principles had prevailed in Western Europe.However, in Central and Eastern Europe, the Habsburg, Tsarist and Ottoman empires remained "prisons of nations".However, the occupants of these prisons are becoming increasingly unruly as nationalist movements have succeeded around them.The rulers of these three empires, aware of the consequences of nationalism for their multinational states, tried to curb it by means of various restrictive measures, by deliberately sowing dissension among some of the subordinate peoples.These measures were successful at first, but are unlikely to work indefinitely.The first gaps in these imperial organizations were opened by the Balkan subjects of the Turks.By 1878, the Serbs, Romanians and Montenegrins had won their independence, and in 1908, the Bulgarians had also won their independence.More importantly, in June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Hapsburgs was assassinated by Serbian patriot Gavrilo Princip.This momentous event sparked World War I, in which all the empires of Central and Eastern Europe—German, Austria-Hungary, Russian, and Turkish—were destroyed.The peace treaties that ended the Great War (discussed in Chapter 20, Section 7) were generally based on nationalist principles, and as a result, several new states emerged—Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Albania , they reflect that some subordinate nations in the past can now exist independently.In any case, with the end of World War I, nationalism has triumphed throughout Europe. During and after the First World War, the idea of ​​nationalism began to awaken and act in hundreds of millions of people of the subordinate nations in the European overseas colonies.The details of this awakening will be examined in later chapters.It will suffice here to note that until the twentieth century the colonial peoples retained the religious and regional allegiances which Western Europeans had enjoyed until the eighteenth century.It was only in the 20th century that they began to have a national consciousness. On the one hand, it was a reaction to Western domination, and on the other hand, it was due to the spread of European nationalist ideology.Another aspect is the rise of an indigenous middle class that is particularly susceptible to this ideology.In any case, nationalism emerged successively in the Middle East, South Asia, the Far East and Africa.The irresistible power of this spreading ideology is reflected in the fact that in the 20 years following the Second World War more than 50 countries won their independence.As one historian asserts, "The twentieth century was the first period in history in which the entire human race embraced the same political idea, the idea of ​​nationalism." Liberalism is the second great doctrine in Europe that affects the world, and its main feature is the emancipation of individuals from the constraints of classes, associations or governments.Its rise was closely related to the rise of the bourgeoisie, but in Central and Eastern Europe, where the bourgeoisie was weak, liberalism was adopted by some enlightened aristocrats.Also, liberalism, developed in its classical form in Western Europe, remained essentially a middle-class movement in terms of its creeds and supporters. The doctrine of Liberalism was first clearly put forward and implemented during the English Revolution.At that time, the main content of these doctrines was freedom of religious belief, personal safety and property safety against the arbitrary interference of the royal family.More precisely, this includes parliamentary control of the ruling power, the existence of independent political parties, and the recognition of the necessity and rights of opposition parties.On the other hand, since citizenship is limited by property conditions, the middle and lower classes and working people who constitute the vast majority of the population have no voting rights.Thus, seventeenth-century English liberalism promoted the interests of the bourgeoisie.Cromwell, for example, disregarded the Equalizers' slogan "a vote is an opinion" and sought to make representation proportional to taxes paid. Liberalism was further interpreted and applied with the American Revolution; during the American Revolution, great progress was made in restricting slavery, extending religious freedom, extending civil rights, and establishing constitutional government. The federal constitution adopted in 1791 was based on the principle of separation of powers, that is, the check and balance of executive, legislative and judicial powers, with the aim of preventing tyranny. The Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, expression, press and assembly.Thus the American Constitution, like the English solution, carefully protects the interests of the propertied classes by limiting the rights of citizenship, by providing for indirect elections of the Speaker and Senators, and of the various branches of government at different times.These arrangements are designed so that at no point can a radical popular movement gain control of the entire government and cause dangerous change. Even more progressive than the American Revolution in terms of liberal creed was the French Revolution.Its Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen is the canonical statement of 18th-century liberalism because it proclaimed in resounding words the right to individual liberty.But French liberalism was also primarily a bourgeois movement.The manifesto, like all constitutions adopted by the French revolutionaries, emphasized the "sacredness and inviolability" of property rights.因此，拿破仑的已得到证明是最持久、最有影响的著名法典，明确禁止组织工会和进行罢工。这类现定的哲学基础由一个法国立法者概述如下： 我们可以得出结论说，从英国革命、美国革命和法国革命中出现的自由主义采取了立宪议会政体的制度形式，关心平等的公民权利，不过，并不关心平等的政治权利和社会权利。即使在这一有限的意义上。自由主义在维也纳会议之后的岁月里仍是采取守势。这是一个反对革命年代的过激行动、在贵族和教士的援助下恢复君主制、企图倒退到1789年以前去的时期。多数情况下，君主们不受宪法制约，专制地进行统治。而在宪法的确起作用的地方，公民权受到非常严格的限制，以致中产阶级大多没有投票权，更不必说劳动者了。因而，1815年以后的时期不仅是民族主义骚动的时期，也是自由主义骚动的时期。 凡是由外族进行统治的地方，其革命运动就性质而言是民族主义的，如希腊反对土耳其、波兰反对俄国、比利时反对荷兰、匈牙利反对奥地利的情况就是如此。凡是在政府是本土的但不代表人民的地方，革命运动就性质而言是自由主义的。一个例子见于法国，在那里，复辟的彼旁王朝于1830年被推翻并由自封的“资产除级国王”路易·菲利普取代。另一例子是1832年英国的《改革法案》，该法案多少扩大了选举权，不过十分有限，仅使选举者人数从大约50万人增加到约81.3万人左右。 随着19 世纪的逝去，自由主义同其他历史运动一样，性质上起了明显的变化。在群众通过接受愈来愈多的教育和参加工会组织而变得更加自信的同时，自由主义不可能继续主要关心资产阶级的利益。因而，早期的古典自由主义转为一种更加民主的自由主义。投票箱前的平等补充了法律面前的平等。到19世纪末叶，成年男子选举权已在西欧大部分国家起作用。甚至受崇敬的自由放任主义原则也逐步得到修改。以往，政府对经济问题和社会问题的干涉一向被看作是对自然法则的作用的干涉，是有害的、无效的。不过，就劳动者而论，这一理论上的主张与基本事实并不相符。公民自由权和选举权不能使劳动者免受由失业、疾病、伤残和老年引起的贫困和不安全。因而，他们利用选举权和工会组织迫切要求实行社会改革。在这种压力下，一种新的、民主的自由主义发展起来，它承认国家对全体公民的福利所负的责任。囚此，西欧各国由德国带头，纷纷采纳了种种社会改革方案，其中包括老年养老金，最低工资法，疾病、事故和失业保险，以及有关工作时间和工作条件的法规。民主的自由主义的这些改革是已成为我们当今时代的标志的福利国家的前奏。 尽管对一个变化中的世界作了这种调整，自由主义从19 世纪末叶起还是连连失利。主要原因似乎在于它未能赢得新兴的工人阶级的支持。一般说来，工人们已转向各种社会主义，或者是转向马克思的社会主义，或者是转向基督教的社会主义。因而，一个接一个国家的自由主义者被挤在右翼的保守主义者和左翼的社会主义者之间。不仅欧洲是这样，而且连从前的殖民地也是如此。在殖民地，绝大多数有政治觉悟的人或者为民族主义所吸引——这是对外来统治的一种反应，或者为社会主义所吸引——这是对贫穷、落后以及缺乏地方资本和本土中产阶级这一现状的一种反应。 社会主义在多数方面是18 世纪和19世纪初叶的古典自由主义的对立面，因为社会主义提倡有利于整个社会利益的社会管理或生产资料所有制。自由主义强调个人和个人权利，社会主义则强调社会和社会的集体福利。自由主义声称社会是自然法则的产物，否认通过立法人为地增进人类幸福的可能性，而社会主义则认为人类通过理性的思考和行动能决定自己的社会制度和社会关系。此外，社会主义坚持认为，人的本性主要是社会环境的产物，因此，如果特别地建立一个社会，其目的在于促进集体福利而不是促进个人利益、促进合作的社会态度和行为型式而不是促进竞争的社会态度和行为型式，那么，当代的弊病就可以被消除。简言之，社会主义强调的是社会和有计划的社会变革，而不是个人和自由放任主义。 改革社会的种种计划决不是我们当今时代所特有的。从文明兴起以来，政治权力和经济权力一直集中在少数人手上。由于这种情况，各时代的预言者和改革者提倡促进社会正义和社会平等的种种计划。例如，在古典世界，柏拉图在中要求实现一种贵族式的共产主义、一种共产主义哲学家的专政。在中世纪时期，英国农民领袖约翰·保尔告诉其追随者说：“我的善良的人们，——直到所有的商品为人们所共同拥有时，直到既没有农奴也没有绅士、我们人人平等时，英国的事情才能办好，在任何时候都会办好。”在近代初期，托马斯·莫尔在中描绘了一种理想的国家，其公民不是因其财富或祖先，而是因他们对国家的贡献才受到尊敬。 英国革命和法国革命的骚动和激情自然激励人们提出更多的促进公共福利的方案。我们已知道，在17 世纪的英国，李尔本和其平均派的成员不仅争取政治改革，而且，争取社会改革。法国革命中和李尔本酷似的人是“格拉古”巴贝夫，他于1795年组织了“平等会”。巴贝夫把法国革命看作“仅仅是远为重大、远为神圣的另一次革命的先驱，而这另一次革命将是最后一次革命。”为了实现这最后的革命，巴贝夫宣布必须采取以下严厉措施：“将国家现有的全部财富置于共和国手中……使所有的公民工作……实现产品和享受的平均分配。……” 巴贝夫提倡废除私有财产，这在当时的法国没有可能被接受。连城市工人都不准备采取如此激进的手段，而构成人口的大多数的农民则激烈反对一种将剥夺他们新近获得的、十分珍爱的土地的纲领。因而，督政府毫不困难地逮捕、处死了巴贝夫，并驱散了他的追随者。因此，在法国同在英国一样，占优势的不是社会主义，而是建立在私有财产的神圣性的基础上的自由主义。 这种情况并不意味着社会抗议和社会骚动随着克伦威尔和拿破仑的胜利而终止。事实上，新的朝气蓬勃的一派社会改革者——空想社会主义者——于19 世纪初叶出现。原因在于，法国革命虽然已唤起民众的期望，但未能使民众全都满意。仍然存在着富人和穷人、剥削者和被剥削者。实际上，工业革命的到来带来了贫民窟和重新出现的失业状态，似乎使富人和穷人之间的冲突更剧烈了。空想社会主义者对这些状况作出了反应，试图把人类从剥削人的资本主义制度下解放出来，就象他们的前辈早先把人类从约束人的封建制度下解放出来一样。 杰出的空想社会主义者是两个法国人圣西门（1760-1825年）和傅立叶（1772-1837年）与英国企业家罗伯特·欧文（1771-1858年）。这些人由于他们所提出的各种理论和方案，至今仍未为人们所忘记。圣西门极力主张国家应把资本借给将按照“各尽所能、按劳取酬”的原则起作用的合作社。傅立叶提倡把社会改组为各有16O0人和5000英亩土地的小的合作团体即“法郎吉”。欧文通过把其工厂所在的新拉纳克改变为一个模范村、通过在印第安纳建立一个短暂的共产主义的“新和谐”村而赢得广泛的注意。 所有这些空想社会主义者都有一个共同的基本特点。他们把注意力集中在他们所设计的模范社会的原则和明确的活动方式上。但是，这些模范社会将如何取代现存社会的问题，他们从未认真地考虑过。他们对于从富裕的或有权势的资助人那里得到帮助这一点抱有模糊的期望。例如，圣西门曾试图谋取教皇和路易十八的支持。傅立叶曾于每天中午坐在自己的房间里，等候人们对他在报上的请求支持的呼吁作出响应，白白等候了12年。也就是说，空想社会主义者都不是革命者。他们虽然有社会变革的方案，但并不期望和打算通过无产者的起义来实现社会变革。他们肯定没有从革命或阶级斗争的观点来进行思考。实际上，他们几乎没考虑过自己精心制作的蓝图如何才能付诸实践。正是由于这一原因，他们被称为空想社会主义者。 现代社会主义之父马克思（1818 -1883年）几乎在每个方面都根本不同于空想社会主义者。马克思是唯物主义者，而空想社会主义者是唯心主义者。马克思用自己一生的大部分时间研究现存的资本主义社会的历史发展和确切作用，而空想社会主义者则制定模范社会的种种蓝图。马克思根据自己的历史研究坚信阶级斗争是社会变革的唯一手段，而空想社会主义者则期待富裕的捐助人的支持。 马克思是一个才华横溢的德国犹太人，24 岁时就当上一家激进报纸的编辑。他在一些国家受到警察的不断迫害之后，终于在伦敦定居下来；在伦敦，他在不列颠博物馆里工作了30年，为其划时代的著作《资本论》（1867年）收集资料。这部著作对后来历史的影响丝毫不亚于卢梭的和达尔文的。马克思著作中的三个基本学说是唯物史观即经济史观、阶级斗争学说和剩余价值观念。 1848 年，马克思与其终身的朋友和捐助人恩格斯合著了《共产党宣言》；他在这部早期著作的序言中将唯物史观概述如下：“每一历史时代主要的经济生产方式与交换方式以及必然由此产生的社会结构，是该时代政治的和精神的历史所赖以确立的基础……。”例如，古典世界的奴隶经济说明了古典世界的政治状况——自由民的民主政治和奴隶所受到的束缚。它也说明了古典世界的文化成就——由于奴隶的劳动，少数人能够闲居，能够致力于文化。 阶级斗争学说也在《共产党宣言》中得到了最好的概述。“到目前为止的一切社会的历史都是阶级斗争的历史。自由民和奴隶、贵族和平民、领主和农奴、行会师傅和帮工，一句话，压迫者和被座迫者，……进行不断的……斗争，而每一次斗争的结局都是整个社会受到革命改造或者斗争的各阶级同归于尽。”关于各阶级具有相冲突的利益的思想就马克思说来并不是新的。但是，马克思的新的、非常重要的见解是：正是通过阶级斗争，人类从一种社会结构转到另一种社会结构。例如，马克思主义者说，从封建主义到资本主义的过渡之所以可能，是因为出现了中产阶级；他们的利益与封建领主的利益相对立，因此，他们领导了最后推翻封建主义的革命运动。 唯物史观和阶级斗争学说构成了马克思对过去历史的解释的基础。就未来而论，马克思确信资本主义将让位于社会主义，他的确信是基于他的第三个主要学说——剩余价值理论。根据这一理论，商品的价值取决于生产该商品所必需的劳动量。例如，一片树林是没有价值的，然而，如果将树木砍倒、运送到工厂、锯成木材、制成家具，那么，这最后的产品就由于其中所耗费的劳动而具有一定的价值。但是，家具出售的价格高于该家具基于劳动的价值，出为价格中还包括了资本家所需要的利润。这意味着提供劳动的工人以工资的形式收到的报酬实际上低于向消费者所索取的价钱。马克思论证说，这是资本主义的唯一致命的弱点，因为工人作为一个阶级不能以自己的工资购买他们所生产的东西。最终，这将导致生产过剩，也就是马克思主义者所说的消费不足；这种消费不足起因于不充足的工资所造成的不充足的购买力。因而，结果是工厂倒闭、失业、购买力进步下降和最后的全面萧条。此外，马克思认为，这种萧条将变得日益频繁、日益严重，直到最后失业的无产阶级在绝望中被迫起来革命为止。这样，资本主义将由社会主义取代，正如早先的封建主义已由资本主义取代一样。新的社会主义社会将是抗萧条的，因为随着实行生产资料公有制，不再存在私人雇主、利润，从而也不再存在购买力的不足。 自19 世纪中叶马克思写下自己的著作以来，事态的发展并未遵循他所预示的明确的模式。在先进的资本主义国家里，穷人没有变得更穷，相反，工人们变得愈来愈富裕，因而也就愈来愈满足于现状。尽管如此，马克思的学说对整个世界产生了巨大影响，如今已成为决定历史进程的最重大的力量之一。其原因可在马克思学说的性质和吸引力中找到。首先，这些学说给各地的工人以一种自信的感觉，使他们确信未来是属于他们的。因为剩余价值理论不是已证明资本主义的崩溃是不可避免的吗？马克思主义还使工人们行动起来、富有战斗精神，因为阶级斗争理论已证实：要赢得社会主义的美好社会，不是靠慈善的捐助人的帮助，而是靠工人本身的努力。最后，马克思主义通过强调国际的阶级联系而不是强调对国家的忠诚，给全世界工人以四海一家和团结的意识。《共产党宣言》的最后一句话是：“全世界无产者，联合起来！” 马克思不仅是理论家和作家，而且是鼓动家和组织者。他在1864 年建立国际工人协会即通常所称的第一国际方面起了重要作用。这一团体接受了马克思关于无产者为了以社会主义方式改革社会而夺取政权的纲领。它以自己的宣传工作和参加各种罢工的行动引起了很大的注意。但是，它于1873年分裂，主要是因为其成员除了有社会主义者以外，还包括缺乏纪律性、经常不和的各种浪漫主义者、民族主义者和无政府主义者。 1889 年，社会党国际即第二国际在巴黎成立。这是一个松散的组织，当时，已出现于各国的许多社会党都加入了该组织。第二国际迅速发展，到1914年，它由27个国家的社会党组成，总共拥有1，200万工人成员。不过，注意到以下这点是很重要的：就其学说和行动而言，第二国际比第一国际温和得多。它基本上是一个修正主义组织，而不是一个革命组织。 侧重点有了这一改变的原因在于，组成第二国际的主要政党本身正在背弃真正的马克思主义，转向所谓的修正主义。有许多因素可解释侧重点的这一改变。一个因素是，在西欧各国，选举权逐渐扩大，这意咪着工人能利用选票而不处利用子弹来实现自己的目标。另一因素是，1850年以后，欧洲的生活水平稳步上升，这往往使工人们久乐于接受现状。德国修正主义领袖伯恩施坦表达了这种新观点，他宣称，社会主义者应该“为更好的未来少工作一些，为更好的现在多工作一些”。换句话说，这一新策略就是通过渐进主义的改革手段来获得直接利益，而不是通过革命为一个社会主义社会而奋斗。第二国际的口号不是阶级斗争和革命，而是“鼓动！教育！组织！” 并非所有的社会主义者都愿意跟着这种修正主义走。他们当中有些人仍忠实于他们听认为的是马克思的学说的东西，所以，大部分社会党皆分裂成“正统”派和“修正主义”派。不过，修正主义者更适合时代的趋向，通常控制着他们各自的政党。确实，他们能组织起强大的工会运动，能在选举竞争中赢得数百万张选票。事实上，到1914年，德国、法国和意大利的社会党已在各自的国民议会中比其他任何政党拥有更多的席位。而且，力量大小不等的社会党简直已存在于整个世界——存在于中欧、俄国、巴尔干半岛各国、奥斯曼帝国、美国、加拿大、拉丁美洲、澳大利亚、新西兰、南非中国和日本。 当第一次世界大战于1914年开始时，第二国际为它的修正主义付出了代价：其大多数成员证明他们首先是民族主义者，其次才是社会主义者。他们响应了各自国家政府的主张，结果是数百万工人战死在壕沟两侧。因而，第二国际被扯碎，虽然战后它又复兴，但再也没有获得其从前的力量和声望。 然而，社会主义并没有随着第二国际的四分五裂而渐趋消失。实际上，俄国社会主义者即通常所说的布尔什维克，正是在第一次世界大战期间成功地夺取政权，建立起有史以来第一个无产阶级政府。此外，布尔什维克组织了第三国际印共产国际，向第二国际即社会党国际挑战。我们以后将考察俄国共产主义政权和国际共产主义运动的性质和活动。这里只要注意到以下这点就够了；如今，许许多多人生活在自称的社会主义国家里，还有无数的人生活在共产党的国家里；共产党国家的庞大的宣传机构天天宣告马克思的预言很快就会实现——资本主义的寿命不会很长了。因此，很显然，包括社会主义和共产主义的马克思主义今天已成为世界事务中的一支主要力量，就其推动力和普遍的吸引力而言，可与民族主义相匹敌。