THE TRADITIONALIST REVIVAL
of its^ specific aspects, Monarchy, Decentralization and
Catholicism.
Monarchy first—a real king, not merely an autocratic
president. Power is not of the people but inherent in the body
politic, of which the king is an integral part. It is not a " divine "
or supernatural but a natural right, against which no man can
prevail. The history of France since the Revolution shows that a
strong independent Monarchy is indispensable : parliamentary
government in any form is always a system under which criti-
cism will be stronger than execution, let alone its liability to be
exploited against the interests of France herself. Only a king
will secure continuity of policy, defence of true national interest
and order and a prosperity undisturbed by constant political
crises. Against this no alleged private interests can avail: " One
cannot consider any interest as more important than the interest
of the State " * is the Leitmotif that runs through every page of
Maurrassian doctrine.2 " The State will have an entirely free
hand. Its conscious, legal and responsible arbitrariness will
guarantee the unity, the continuity and the permanence of its
policy, with the help of competent men, expressed in technical
councils on local bodies."3
Maurras believes in decentralization for the same reasons as
Barres pleaded against " uprooting " from one's birthplace. It
is through attachment to your own corner that you love the
1 Action frang aise, 2Oth May 1910:" Pour Mannas, le postulat de la patrie
est une donne*e de I'mtelligence qui s'impose a son esprit avec tous les
caracteres d'un imperatif categorique " (Descoqs, A tracers /'(Euvre de Ch.
MaurraS) p. 323).
2 " Ce que j'attends de TEtat c'est la garantie souveraine.de moh essence,
1'independance de ma patrie, le libre usage de mon idiome natal, le maintien
des coutumes et des traditions nationales. En comparaison de ces droits prim-
ordiaux, organiques, vitaux, aines de tous les autres (que 1'fitat seul peut me
garantir) les pauvres petites libertes individuelles sont comme 1'hygiene de
1'ongle et du cheveu par rapport a la vie normale de 1'estonac, du coeur et de
1'intestin " (Gazette de France, rjth July 1907).
3 Dictateur et Rot: " L'fitat dont la monarchic de Maurras serait la re-
stauration serait un fitat non-intellectuel, je vieux dire un Łtat qui, ramene a
sa fonction essentielle et a sa vraie nature, laquelle est d'etre la guerre faite
homme, ne serait plus la proie des intellectuels et leur instrument de regne,
comme 1'est 1'fitat democratique moderne " (Berth, Mlfaits des Intellectuels,
P- 57)-
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