The New Republican Conception of Property

Under the old regime anything could be bought and sold, even little chunks of state power. Even skilled professional pos tions like those of magistrates and clerks were bought, sold or inherited with no regard to qualifications or experience. The revolutionaries created a sist of what they called absolute property under which almost all land and capital was owned by individuals who had more or less total control over their holdings. Justice and ministration became the exclusive province of the state for the first time in history.