Root Hilton. The Fountain of Privilege: Political Foundations of Markets in Old Regime France and England

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. — 280 p. — ISBN10: 0520084152; ISBN13: 978-0520084155 — (California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy. Book 26)Hilton Root's new book applies contemporary economic and political theory to answer long-standing historical questions about modernization. It contrasts political stability in Georgian England with the collapse of the Old Regime in France. Why did a century of economic expansion rupture France's political foundations while leaving those of Britain intact? Comparing the political and financial institutions of the two states, Root argues that the French monarchy's tight control of markets created unresolvable social conflicts whereas England's broader power base permitted the wider distribution of economic favors, resulting in more flexible and efficient markets.Introduction: Speaking Across ParadigmsTheoretical and historical backgroundThe Market for Property Rights
Rivals in Modernization Creating National Communities in France and England
The Redistributive Role of the StateThe less privilegedInterpreting Peasant RevolutionsThe more privilegedThe Political Economy of Collective Violence What Did the "Moral Economy" of Pre-Revolutionary Europe Cost?
Rent Seeking and Trade Regulation
The Rise and Decline of English Mercantilism in Comparative PerspectiveThe very privilegedTying the King's Hands Credible Commitments and Roval Fiscal Policy under the Old Regime
The Fiscal Origins of Democratic RevolutionHypotheses and conclusionsModernization, Revolution, and the State
Caveat Emptor Markets and History[i]Works cited
Index[/b]