In some
ways, this question points toward one of the common misunderstandings of the French Revolution.
There's a tendency among many to cast the Third Estate as the sole driving force of the French
Revolution. The historical reality is significantly more complicated than that picture would
attest.
Before getting to that point, however, I think you should keep in
mind that the Estates System, taken as a whole, represents a social structure. That was the
foundation of the Ancien R©gime, and ultimately, that structure was what the Revolution
dismantled: an entire system of privilege and particularities was swept aside by a more modern
political understanding based in equality under the law. From this perspective alone, the
Estates are deeply important to the French Revolution.
Ultimately, I think
there is a tendency to underestimate the liberalism which existed within the Second Estate,
viewing it (along with the First Estate) as a collection of reactionaries, opposed to the
Third...
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