Journal of Economic Literature
ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)
France after 1789: Essay on Elster's France before 1789
Journal of Economic Literature
(pp. 1230–55)
Abstract
In this essay on Elster's book (2020), I expose my concerns about the ability of behavioral tools to correctly address the transition phase between the absolutist regime and the democratic institutions inherited from the French Revolution. Rehabilitating the forgotten analyses of contemporary political philosophers Quinet, de Sade, and Leroux, I defend the view that a correct understanding of the French Revolution's essence lies in its political philosophical dimension, not in the supposed psychological traits of its actors. I suggest a renewed way to apprehend and model revolutions, combining three levels of analysis: political philosophy, macroeconomic dynamics, and complexity economics.Citation
Parent, Antoine. 2024. "France after 1789: Essay on Elster's France before 1789." Journal of Economic Literature 62 (3): 1230–55. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20221651Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- D74 Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
- N13 Economic History: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations: Europe: Pre-1913
- N43 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: Europe: Pre-1913
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification