Скачать или смотреть The French Revolution Was a Financial Collapse

The French Revolution as a sovereign debt crisis.
Key arguments presented:
1. Pre-Revolutionary State: Terminal Debt
Cause: Expensive wars (American Independence, etc.) financed by loans, not taxes.
Scale:
4.5 billion livres in debt; over 50% of state revenue consumed by interest payments.
Systemic Flaw: A two-tiered tax system legally exempted the wealthy (Clergy, Nobility) from direct taxes, burdening the Third Estate.
Gridlock: Aristocratic courts (parlements) blocked all meaningful fiscal reform.
2. Post-Revolutionary Crisis: Hyperinflation
The new government inherited the monarchy's debt.
Solution: Seized church lands and issued a paper currency, the assignat, backed by this property.
Outcome: The government printed money excessively, leading to hyperinflation. The assignat lost over 99% of its value by 1795.
3. Policy & Terror
Official Response: The state blamed hoarders and speculators for the currency's failure, not its own printing.
Enforcement: Implemented draconian price controls (Law of the General Maximum). Refusing the worthless assignat became a capital offense.
Conclusion: The Reign of Terror was used as an instrument of economic policy to enforce a failed currency. Inflation functioned as a violent wealth transfer from savers to the state, destroying social trust and enabling tyranny.

Summarizes the financial collapse preceding and during the French Revolution, arguing that the revolution was fundamentally a sovereign debt crisis fueled by an unsustainable tax system and a disastrous paper money experiment. The main claim is that the French Revolution, often viewed as a philosophical awakening, was primarily a consequence of a total financial breakdown, where ideology served as a mask for the chaos resulting from state bankruptcy. The logic is structured as follows: The French monarchy accumulated terminal debt (4.5 billion livres by 1788, with over 50% of revenue going to interest payments) primarily due to expensive wars (Austrian Succession, Seven Years' War, American Independence) financed by high-interest loans rather than taxation. This debt spiral was exacerbated by a broken, two-tiered tax system where the wealthiest estates (Clergy and Nobility) were legally exempt from most direct taxes, leaving the entire burden on the Third Estate (merchants, peasants, etc.). Attempts at reform were blocked by the aristocratic courts (parlements), creating absolute gridlock. Following the revolution, the new government inherited the debt and, lacking cash, seized church lands and issued the assignat, a paper currency backed by this land. The government succumbed to the temptation of the printing press, leading to hyperinflation (the assignat lost over 99% of its value by 1795). When the currency failed, the government did not admit error but instead blamed hoarders and speculators, implementing draconian price controls (Law of the General Maximum). Refusal to accept the worthless currency or failure to comply with price controls became capital offenses, making the Reign of Terror an instrument of economic policy used to enforce an economic fantasy. This process of inflation is characterized as a stealth default, violently transferring wealth from the middle class (savers) to the state, destroying social trust and independence, and ultimately paving the way for tyranny.