France was the country which, above any other, had perfected
the theory and practice of divine-right monarchy. In France had
developed the sharpest contrasts between the various social classes. It
was likewise in France that the relatively high level of education and
enlightenment had given great vogue to a peculiarly destructive
criticism of political and social conditions. Louis XIV had erected his
absolutism and had won for it foreign glory and prestige only by
placing the severest burdens upon the French people. The exploitation
of the state by the selfish, immoral Louis XV had served not to lighten
those burdens but rather to set forth in boldest relief the inherent
weaknesses of the "old regime." And Louis XVI, despite all manner of
pious wishes and good intentions, had been unable to square conditions
as they were with the operation of antique institutions. One royal
minister after another discovered to his chagrin that mere "reform" was
worse than useless. A "revolution" would be required to sweep away the
mass of abuses that in the course of centuries had adhered to the body
politic.
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