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University of California Press

About the Book

The example of Old Regime France provides a source for many of the ideas about capitalism, modernization, and peasant protest that concern social scientists today. Hilton Root challenges traditional assumptions and proposes a new interpretation of the relationship between state and society.

About the Author

Hilton L. Root is Bers Professor of Social Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 
Abbreviations 
Introduction: The State, the Peasantry, and the Revolution 
1. Louis XIV Builds a Peasant Kingdom 
2. A Bureaucratic State in the Making 
3· Village Assemblies and the General Will 
4· The Politics of Agriculture 
5· Challenging the Seigneurie: Community and Contention on the Eve of the Revolution 
6. The Limits of Reform 
7· Financing the French Revolution 
Bibliography 
Index