10. Europe in the XVIII century.

10.1 Early bourgeois states and enlightened absolutism in Europe

Enlightenment is a necessary stage in cultural development. "Have the courage to use your own mind!" - so the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) defined the essence of the attitudes of his era, which was called the Age of Enlightenment. After the Renaissance and the Reformation, this was the third spiritual upheaval, which almost completely put an end to the medieval system of values.

The Enlightenment was a powerful international movement. It was the main content of the internal life of Western Europe in the first three quarters of the XVIII century.

Enlightenment is a necessary step in the cultural development of any country parting with the feudal way of life. At its core, the Enlightenment is democratic. The Enlightenment clings tenaciously to the idea of ​​formal law, seeing in it precisely the guarantee of humanism. The Enlightenment is not tied to a specific chronology. The collapse of feudal relations in different countries occurred at different times. England and Holland outstripped other European countries, followed by France and Germany.

The XVIII century Enlightenment It was a major phenomenon of European life, and its influence reflected not only on the mental development of European society, but also on the comprehensive coverage and criticism of outdated forms of everyday life that survived from the Middle Ages. The Enlightenment entered into a struggle with those parties of the previous system that did not meet the requirements of modernity.

English Pronunciation. England’s special role in the history of the European Enlightenment consisted primarily in the fact that it was his homeland and in many respects and pioneer. In general, the political program of the English Enlightenment was formulated by the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), who considered the state as a product of mutual agreement between people. To the fore, he put forward moral criteria for the behavior of people in society. Not civil laws, but norms of morality, which are established “by implicit and tacit consent,” should, according to Locke, be a natural regulator of interpersonal relations.

Constitutional ideas of Locke to a large extent embodied in the political system of England, as it implemented the class compromise of the bourgeoisie and the nobility. In proclaiming the happiness of a particular person as the highest goal, and not of humanity as a whole, the English enlighteners meant first of all personal success. Locke emphasized: “We are born into the world with such abilities and forces that have the ability to master almost any thing and that in any case can lead us further than we can imagine: but only the exercise of these forces can tell us the skill and art somehow lead us to perfection. " ¹ Emphasizing the value of each person’s personal creative effort, his knowledge and experience, the English enlighteners perfectly captured the needs of the 18th century society.

In the XVIII century. in England, the old forms of state power were filled with new content. In 1701, Parliament passed two documents that prevented the return of the Stuarts to the British throne. The first Bill on the succession to the throne handed over the throne to representatives of the Hanover dynasty. The second document, Status of the Kingdom, introduced parliamentarism, the responsibility of ministers to parliament. The actual strengthening of the power of parliament occurred during the reign of Queen Anne (1665-1714). At the same time, the royal power degraded, and under George II (1683-1760), the king lost his veto over laws adopted by parliament and could not participate in government meetings. Parliament consisted of two chambers - the House of Lords and the House of Commons. In the struggle of the parliament with the king, two political parties took an active part - the Tories and the Whigs, created in the 17th century.

For 45 years (since 1714), England was not ruled by a king, but by ministers from the Whig party defending the interests of the big bourgeoisie. The situation changed in 1760 when King George III came to power (1738-1820), during all 60 years of his reign the Tory remained the ruling party, protecting the interests of absolutists.

The constitutional essentially parliamentary monarchy established in Great Britain in the first half of the 18th century proved to be the forerunner of that political system, the establishment of which entailed the strengthening and victory of new capitalist relations.

French Enlightenment

French Enlightenment. The idea of ​​the moral revival of society by political methods - popular uprising, the stateisation of broad spheres of public life gave a special originality to the French Enlightenment, outstanding representatives of which were Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Charles-Louis Montesquieu (1689-1755), Voltaire (1634-1778), Denis Diderot (1783-1784) and others.

Rousseau’s political views were set forth in his essay “On the Social Contract”, in which he pushes society into the forefront, arguing that the society previously had all the power it had transferred under the contract to the rulers so that they would use this power in the interests of the society itself. But since the rulers began to abuse power to the detriment of society, Rousseau suggests that society once again take power into its hands to create a democratic republican state. In such a state, each full member of society must be directly involved in governance, legislation and the court. Thus, according to Rousseau, civil equality will be achieved.

The main work of Montesquieu "On the Spirit of Laws" contained the ideas of law and the state, and therefore was relevant for many European monarchs. In it, Montesquieu holds out the idea that the legislation and state structure of each country must adapt to its climatic and soil conditions, as well as to the religion, character and degree of development of its people. Of the various forms of government, he gives preference to the republican one; he considers its application in practice possible under the condition of the equal development of all citizens and their readiness for the role of rulers. He did not see the possibility in modern states for a republican form of government; therefore, he stops at a constitutional monarchy, in which the executive power belongs to the monarch, and the legislative power - to elected people's representatives. The court should be independent of the administration.

In his political views, Voltaire was a monarchist, was in friendship and correspondence with many European monarchs. To the possession of autocratic power did not lead to abuse and arbitrariness, according to Voltaire, sovereigns should be philosophically educated, surrounded by philosophers and guided by philosophy that guarantees the justice and usefulness of their orders. Voltaire preached the beginnings of humanity and justice, insisted on a radical transformation of medieval forms of justice, on the abolition of torture, called for the abolition of serfdom, for the destruction of feudal privileges.

The so-called encyclopedists, members of the circle of the philosopher Didro, who published from 1751 to 1776, also had a great influence on society. "Encyclopedia of Sciences, Arts and Crafts". They criticized existing attitudes and practices, called for judicial reform, religious freedom, the abolition of class privileges, the emancipation of the peasants, popular representation and other democratic rights and freedoms of citizens.

Enlightened absolutism. In the second half of the XVIII century. in connection with the pan-European economic and demographic upsurge in the ruling circles of European states, the awareness of the need to modernize the economic and political system grew. This pan-European phenomenon is traditionally referred to as enlightened absolutism.

The essence of the policy of enlightened absolutism was to, without actually changing the state forms of absolute monarchy, within these forms, from above carry out reforms in the economic, political, and cultural fields aimed at modernizing outdated feudal phenomena. The most profoundly monarchical concept of enlightened absolutism was given by the Prussian king Frederick II the Great (1712-1786), who left behind a 30-volume collection of works. Influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Frederick II issued a code of laws, the Friedrich Codex, which introduced an equal court for all in Prussia, established full toleration, and abolished torture. However, the enthusiasm for the ideas of the Enlightenment of Frederick II was shallow, as can be judged by his practical deeds. Thus, he left the entire social structure of Prussia, with the nobility predominating over the other classes, unchanged.

More consistently pursued a policy of enlightened absolutism, Joseph II (1741-1790), who after the death of his father Franz Stefan became the German emperor, and after the death of his mother Maria Theresa, he inherited the Austrian possessions. In his ten-year reign in Austria (1780-1790), he carried out a number of reforms, the main of which was the liberation of the peasants from serfdom, giving them land. The most deeply and consistently the reforms of Joseph II affected the legal proceedings (“Joseph's lawyer”). However, he also abolished the autonomy of the lands and provinces of the Habsburg Empire, and encouraged the German colonization of Hungary, Transvannia, and Galicia.

The Enlightenment politicized the public consciousness and contributed to the growth of revolutionary sentiments in society.