Beyond the Dual Revolution: Revisiting Capitalism in Modern France

What communication has there been—and should there be—between the history of modern France and the new history of capitalism? In this introduction to a special issue, the authors trace the recent development of a new scholarly interest in the history of capitalism, outlining the ways that this field intersects with existing research on the history of economic life in nineteenth-century France and suggesting how historians of France can push this scholarship into new directions. In particular, French history’s global turn, the strength of historiography on consumerism and marketization, the place of (revolutionary) property in law and culture and the significance of cultural history represent particular vectors through which the history of nineteenth-century France and the new history of capitalism can develop.