Interpretations of d'Argenson's Considerations on the Ancient and Present Government of France and of the Origins of the Political Radicalism in the Eighteenth-Century France
Abstract：René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson is one of the most creative thinkers in the early eighteenth-century France. His theories on local election and democratic monarchy presented in Considérations sur le gouvernement ancien et présent de la France have a profound and direct impact on Rousseau's theory of general will and physiocrats' legal despotism. But due to its multiple editions and the differences among different ones, and due to the destruction of the author's collections in a fire, the comprehension of the pamphlet becomes rather difficult. As a result, the political thoughts of d'Argenson have not yet been given enough attention to ever since. Hence it is of great significance to restore his thoughts, not only for understanding the transformation of the French political thinking at the beginning of 18th century, but also for dating back the origin of radicalism of the French Revolution. Deeply influenced by the doctrine of Laissez faire, d'Argenson creatively transforms this anti-mercantilist argument into an administrative principle, holding that the malpractice of absolutism is not the excessive centralization, but the state and society relationship distortion. The root of the national impoverishment lies in the fact that the king always puts his own interest above that of the state. d'Argenson's criticism overturns the doctrine of l'état,c'est moi, and shakes the institutional foundation of the absolute monarchy. Hereafter, the public interest, instead of the raison d'état, becomes the criterion for the governing. His radicalism is shown in his argument that what the French royalty needs is not the limitation of its power, but the enlightenment given by general will, the free expression of which can only be done under the condition that everyone can express his will freely. So d'Argenson tries to introduce democracy into monarchy. He believes the function of democracy is to assist the rule of the monarch via defining explicitly the general will. To elaborate his argument, he distinguished the communal interest and the public interest administered by the local officials elected by the local people and by the designated officials appointed by the king, respectively. He also conceives a completely new administrative structure composed of departments, district, and commune, which actually becomes the prototype of the modern French administrative system. Besides, d'Argenson strongly appeals for political equality and maintains that the property, instead of bloodline be the precondition for voting. He argues that public interest can only be achieved when all the subjects are equal. To him, a republic protected by king and constituted by equal citizens goes better to natural order. d'Argenson establishes the general will achieved by democracy as the genuine authority for guiding public affairs and as a useful complement to the royalty instead of its potential rival. His Considérations indicates the abolishment of privileges and corps as well as the attack on containing the crown power, which is in nature a généralité political culture. Formulated as well as developed by Physiocrats and Rousseau, this political culture is incorporated into the discourses of ever popular sovereignty, which later evolves into more radical and more rational political ideas, completely denying the significance of the history and tradition serving as the legitimate foundation for the nobility privileges, but believing that all the existing institutional malpractices can be eradicated simply by resorting to reason and general will. In view of all the above, d'Argenson's ideas can be regarded as one of the major origins of political radicalism in the French Revolution.
引用本文:
张 弛. 《法国古今政府论》析义——兼论18世纪法国政治激进主义的起源
[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2018, 4(5): 215-227.
Zhang Chi. Interpretations of d'Argenson's Considerations on the Ancient and Present Government of France and of the Origins of the Political Radicalism in the Eighteenth-Century France. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2018, 4(5): 215-227.
