States and Social Revolutions - Synopsis - Chapter 2: Old Regime States in Crisis

Chapter 2: Old Regime States in Crisis

This chapter highlights the old regimes in crisis such as; France, China, and Russia . These states set the precedent for old regimes in crisis and help to outline the pre-revolutionary conditions and the leading causes. Skocpol’s states that revolutionary crisis are created when the old regimes fail to modernize with the evolving international situation (Skocpol 1979, 48). The reason that the old regimes where in crisis was because the upper classes could not defend against peasant rebellions on a local basis; therefore, they supervise the society to maintain order (Skocpol 1979, 48). The peasant upper class relied on the monarchical class to back up their class positions, prerogatives, and built their fortune on state services to have opportunities (Skocpol 1979, 49). Thus, the economic interests of the landed upper classes were in part obstacles to be overcome. These states were caught in a tough situation where the state decided to update their status in the international arena or fix the domestic class structure among the rich and the poor (Skocpol 1979, 50).

The first state discussed in a domestic crisis is France, this state was one of Skocpol’s primary definitions of an old world revolutions. The two themes demonstrated in France’s revolution is the rise of bourgeoisie and the emergence of the enlightenment ideology which is the characteristics that defines a revolution (Skocpol, 1979: 47). The first crisis in Frances old regime was the state and Louis XIV the absolute monarchy that led the country (51). The second crisis in the old world regime is the economy. Peasants accounted for 85 percent of the national population of the twenty six million people at the time. The progress of industry relied heavily on peasants fulfilling the labor of the agriculture and the taxation from that agriculture, yet all the money would help fund the wars(54). The third problems were the dominant classes’ jurisdiction and control of the hierarchical structure. There were distinctions between the first class, nobles, and the third estate, depending on those who were privileged and those that weren’t (57). It all relied on “proprietary wealth” and taking the form of land exploited through rents from tenants who held or used pieces of domains, farms and other forms of land (59). The divisions between the different estates were the true barrier at the middle level of the social order based largely on wealth and office holding of the noble class over that of the peasantry class (58). The fourth problem with France were the wars and fiscal dilemmas held within the state (60). The monarchy could not financially maintain the military yet alone not continue to maintain the soldier’s quantity of the military because there weren’t enough members of nobility. The last problems were the revolutionary political crisis; the upper nobility would propose new taxes on all lands when funding was needed (64). The dominant class then wanted representative body to advise the king of taxation. The king went against his counsel triggering administrative chaos and military breakdown (64). The people leading the chaos were the rich nobles, non-nobles, and poor country nobles. In 1788 to 1789, the French dominant class was united in wanting a less absolutist more representative national government (65). The absolutist reinforced their advantages against the poorer through political means; the state-enforced taxes hindered the opportunity of the peasants.

The second state discussed in chapter two was Manchu China in the 19th century (Skocpol 1979, 67). This civilization was in a tension filled state filled with pressures on the government to provide for the state and conflicts between gaining status in the international arena and the domestic conflicts within the state (67). The second old crisis in the Manchu-China was the agrarian economy and society of villages involved in locally focused marketing networker and imperial state administration that recruited and deployed educated individuals certified by an elaborate examination system (68). The land was owned, rented, bought, and sold in small units to peasants. The population was 80 percent peasant agriculturalists living in villages. Another old crisis occurring in China was the state itself, the emperor ruled an absolute and legally unlimited monarch with several of the imperial clans who clustered around him in support (69). “Each province was divided into smaller unites designated as tao or circuits over which intendent presided, Each tao was made up of a fu and the fu, in turn, were subdivided into departments and hsien (under magistrates) (70). Officials were appointed from the literati degree holder, otherwise known as 2% of the population. The Literati were protected by the imperial officials and these individuals passed their metropolitan examinations (70). After that group came the lower literati who passed basic level examinations. Then the gentry were based on office holding and ownership of surplus land and liquid wealth (71). The gentry lent or rented their land to the peasants that would work the field; supporting the Confucian status-manner (72). The fourth crisis in the old regime was the foreign intrusions and the domestic rebellions (73). China became under extraordinary pressures from imperialist nations abroad, to regulate and expand free trade. This directly affected China’s deepening incursions on sovereignty within the state, allowing Britain to further dictate the state. Another problem occurring because of the foreign intrusion was the increase in population growth due to the emergence of industrialism (74). The fourth crisis that the old regime encountered was that the imperial authorities became weaker due to financial and administrative deficiencies in the state (74). Thus, causing the beuracracy to break pace and disorganizing the authority from the Literati to basic level magistrates supervising a record breaking population (75). The chaos that ensued after the changes of the new imperial figure that invaded China caused Chaos, not only did the western ideology affect China’s educational system but it disrespected the Confucianism ideals that China was built upon. The Ch’ing was confronted in the 18th century with peasant based rebellions such as; White Lotus, Taiping, and Nien(75). The fifth crisis that resulted in China’s revolution was the loss of resources that created the rebellions because of the economical and population losses caused by massive civil warfare. The last crisis that ensued in old regime, China were the changes in government, the new western style learning for new governmental elite was established in the localities and provinces and in peaking (77). Another change that occurred was the creation of military academies to train officers as well as a new budgeting system that was instituted (78). The last change in government was the creation of representative assemblies in 1908 to support the imperial government. The western ideologies completely rejected the Confucian ideals that were in place for centuries (79).

The last old world regime in crisis was Russia; they were the last underdeveloped great powers that were bombarded by state change as well as the loss of status in the international arena (Skocpol 1979, 81). The Russian imperial state was in crisis due to their multiple defeats in previous wars. In the 19th century, he state developed a competition to be the dominant power in the European state system (83-84). The population during that time was living in cities was 8 to 10 percent or 60 million (82). During this era, there were two types of landlord/serf relations that prevailed and often combined in one estate or intermixed in one locale; black soil provinces, and infertile soil(83). Those who worked in the black soil provinces performed the services on the lord’s demesne for one half or more of each week (83). The second system had hard conditions and made the serfs face primitive conditions making their job difficult. The second crisis was the Crimean debacle and reform of Western Europe during the 19th century (83). Imperial Russia was on their defense when it came to controlling the Russian Sea. Russia appeared on the global sphere to be on of the strongest single powers in 1815 but after 1848 they lost their position as a great power in the international arena (84). The Crimean war handed the severe blow to Russia’s strength and further displayed Russia’s inferiority to other countries in this moment in time (84). The military defeats made the citizens of the state lose confidence in their government forcing them to reform (85). The first sign of reform was emancipation of the serfs, directly limiting nobility’s autocracy, further dissolving the imperial state. The third crisis that occurred was the weakness of the landed nobility; this group was the middle class between the serf economy and the imperial state (85). The Russian dominant class was created with the financial funding of the peasantry through the state, the landed nobility was economically weak and dependent on the imperial authorities to control the state (87). The fourth crisis in the old regime was the state guided industrialization that occurred after the post-Crimean reform era, the goal of the state was to spur industrialization from the upper class and did not come until after some initial experiments’ with laissez faire capitalist policies (90). Russia was open to foreign trade and investment believing that they could acquire modern industrial, transportation materials and techniques to speed up the agricultural process. The state didn’t predict the possibility of trade and investments leading to the furtherance of Russia’s demise; the agricultural productivity declined, the price for grain dropped, the need for imports and indebtedness grew (90). Russia was further dissolved by the war and military measures cost the state as well as created famines in 1891. The Russian economy was tied to Europe’s finances, the western market contracted Russian’s industry, and grown rapidly in the 1890s, but the crisis created a long recession. Despite the declining economy, Russia still functioned as a competing Great Power in the European arena (94). Yet, the state still couldn’t move forward because of the collapse of the agricultural system. The last crisis that occurred in the old world regime was the impact of war. In the 20th century, Russia was caught in the middle of an “crosscurrent” between the international world and the Europe (94). The states goal was to maintain their power and status as the Great Power and the only way this could be done was through war. The biggest war Russia ever became involved in was World War 1, engulfing all of the European states forcing Russia to protect their status and assets (95). The consequences led Russia further downward because of the military defeats, economic and administrative chaos (96).

Another important aspect of this chapter was Meiji Restoration and the Prussian Reform Movement (100-111). A series of states (France, Prussia, Japan, China and Russia) were subjected to military pressures from more financially stable states abroad and all states encountered societal political crisis (110). France, Russia, and China were the states to be immersed into the social revolutions but Prussia and Japan adapted to the pressures by adapting through reforms given by the authoritarian figures (110). The precedent of Social Revolutions began in France, Russia, and China through the internal and external crisis seen at the time. The surfacing of the(se) “revolutionary political crisis” were created by the nobilities control on the agrarian structure of taxation on the old regimes limiting the peasant’s opportunities (111).