Significance of the French revolution

Significance of the French revolution

World history is replete with many instances of conflict and issues that bring radical perspectives in the social, political, economic, and religious fronts. The French Revolution that occurred between the late 18th and early 19th centuries was a period of turmoil and civil strife in France with resultant consequences. It involved a conflict between the social classes, which had long suffered alienating effects based on wealth and ethnic extraction. However, despite the high number of casualties in the revolution, it is clear that the French revolution managed to transform the status quo from the old regime to the start of the new world on several fronts.

The French revolution changed the people’s ideology on governance from that of aristocracy to democracy. A look at the old French older reveals an interesting perspective on the governance model of the French republic. For centuries, the French system of governance involved only once cener of power which revolved around the nobility. The system ensured that once one was born into the ruling family, they had a chance and right at governance for a variety of reasons. Apart from being direct heirs of the royal throne such as the children born in King Louis the XVI household, other members of the society who were related to this family could have political rights as leaders in various parlements and landlords. Parlements aligned were intent on propping the royal household. The model entrenched a system where there were only two recognized centers of power the monarchy and the church; precisely the catholic church as other forms of religion were illegal. On removing the old order the country had a chance to establish one real center of power led by the popular majority. In the democratic system the majority of the public who were peasants had a chance to run the government through voting in the leaders of their choice and further gaining a chance at law amendment. Under the new system, a national assembly where laws governing the welfare of the public was established in place of a royal council that consisted of members of the royal family and the church. The national assembly was a bold step in the entrenchment of democracy through ensuring that the voice of the majority had an avenue to seek redress in case of infringement on their rights. The entrenchment of democracy in the French republic influenced neighboring countries such as Britain and other world economies to establish their own forms of democracy. Besides, the democratic model ensured that the key players instituted economic changes of for the suffering majority.

One of the major cause of the French revolution was high levels of poverty caused by inefficient economic policies. The policies consisted of high levels of taxes on land and other commodities. The model of taxation involved a framework which involved fragmenting the society into three levels: the church, nobility and third estate or common peasants. The system ensured that direct taxes on commodities was high and the greatest burden was on the peasants. Notably, the church was exempt on payment of all forms of taxes both direct and land taxes. The nobility being the center of power could pay taxes on certain products. However, considering their direct power and influence, the efficacy in the collection of taxes on this group was low. Besides, the monarchy were the largest land owners and the peasants were tenants who paid annual taxes for occupying the nobility’s land. The taxation and the market economy was therefore not based on equality and ability to pay. On revolution, the national assembly embarked on a series of legal reforms that emphasized that the public had the right to fair and transparent taxation and power to consent to the imposition of new taxes. The declaration on the equality of society in matters of taxation set the path for all forms of modern taxation and economic models. Taxation is highly linked to economic development. Notably, in the old system of governance there was no transparency in the procedure in which the state collected taxes, and in their implementation, and the third estate was under law banned from participating in the economic debate. The nobility therefore, directed the public taxes to the opulent lifestyle of the ruling families and external wars. A fair taxation system introduced accountability and the current public finance economic model in France and the rest of the world which placed emphasis on giving value for money on collected taxes in the improvement of the economy. Besides, the model instituted a new social perspective on society.

Historically, the French society had three distinct social levels: the church, monarchy and peasants. Under this system, the peasants or third estate could only join the church from a social ladder perspective. Once one was born in the third estate the laws prohibited them from ever joining the Monarchy. The French law used the degree of sanguinity to bar the peasant class from joining the noble class. The nobles had higher rights and privileges under the French law including rights to own property, participate in civil and religious matters and remained in this class for life, passing on these rights to the descendants. The peasants similarly, remained in their social class for the rest of their lives, unless in the special circumstance of joining the catholic church as priests. Notably, aside from the exclusion of the peasants from all civil, legal and land ownership rights, the greatest impact was in their exclusion from earning education. After the revolution and the declaration and the entrenchment of civil liberties for all members of society, the new era after the revolution brought a new approach in education. Notably, only those affiliated to the church or the monarchy could access proper education. Subjective models of thought were highly discouraged by the former aristocratic model of governance, and scholars such as Voltaire who offered enlightenment to the rest of the society often arose from either the church or the nobility. The end of the old era enabled the majority who had no chance at earlier upward social mobility to join other wealthier classes through the universal approach to education in the new system of government. The church’s role diminished to offering religious advice while the nobility ended. Eventually, those who managed to achieved high education status formed part of the middle class which was now influential in running many aspects of the state. Besides, the end of the social class system introduced a new perspective on the debate on slavery.

For centuries, slavery formed a significant part of the economic and social system among the French society. The practice of slavery had legal backing the constitutional recognition of the segregation of the classes. Although the peasants appeared as the lowest in the legal recognition of classes, the slaves appeared under a different system of recognition. The French laws recognize slaves as property. Not only were the slaves denied of their existence as human beings, they had no identity as they formed part of the goods that the monarchy traded in. Practically, their low status ensured that they suffered the worst form of punishment and lifestyle in the country and they had no one to speak about their issues. The French revolution brought in new constitutional amendments whish adopted a policy titled “The Declaration of the Rights” of human beings which made no distinctions of French citizens in terms of race, ethnicity and social extractions. Through this policy, slavery ended in the French republic and all enslaved Africans gained French citizenship and could participate in national matters without discrimination. Notably, the Blacks in France gained both their humanity and recognition in the participation in all aspects of the economy as equal members of society. Consequently, the legal recognition of the equality of blacks in France led to further debates on the end of slavery and culminated in numerous anti-slavery uprisings in French colonies such as Haiti and other parts of the world.

From the analysis it is clear that the French revolution improved many aspects of the French citizens’ lives and changed the course of the world. Through the French revolution the French and the world at large gained democracy and fair taxations as models of governance and economy respectively. Also, the French gained a new ability at social mobility and end of slavery. All these factors reveal a revolutionary moment in the transformation from the old regime into the modern world.