ABSTRACT
Thefocusofmystudyisfromtheadventofmodernindustrialsociety. RaymondArondatesthisfromthebeginningofthenineteenthcentury. Othersmightplaceitalittleearlier.Someeconomichistoriansconsiderthe IndustrialRevolutionreallybeginswiththe'ageofsteam'inthe1780s. Politicalscientiststendtoperceivethemodernerabeginningin1789with theemergenceofmobilizedpoliticsasaresultoftheFrenchRevolution.Yet itwouldbemisleadingtoaffirmthatcentralizationandconcentrationof powerdidnotfeaturebeforemodernindustrialsociety.
