ABSTRACT
Wherever we look in Europe in the 1780s, from the Atlantic to theUrals, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, in society, the economy, cultural life, or politics and government, we see a continent in which older structures and institutions, formed over the previous two hundred and fifty years, faced newer, more recent developments, ones that would prove to be the precursors to the nineteenth century. This chapter surveys this double face of late-eighteenth-century Europe, comparing the nature of the old and the new, and ascertaining the relative size and influence of each. It concludes with some questions about the relationship between the forces of persistence and the tendencies toward change. Could the new emerge smoothly and continuously from the old, perhaps even engaging in a symbiosis with it? Or would the complete emergence of new ways of organizing, governing and thinking about society, economics and government require a sharp break with existing institutions?
