Absolutism was reactionary

As absolutism spread across Europe and the East and democracy in many nations appeared to be as distant as ever, it is not unreasonable to place some of the responsibility of this trend on the citizens of these nations. Absolutism would not have arisen had the circumstances dictated it's apparent necessity and the citizens accepted this policy. As rulers, noblemen, and ordinary citizens heard of rival nations gaining more and more power, mostly due to these nations becoming absolutist, it seems to be a natural reactionary policy for these other nations to adopt absolutism. Though the end result of French absolutism was the bankruptcy of the nation and a violent revolution, initially some important benefits were seen.

The monarchy of France before Louis XIV was somewhat powerful, as most monarchies of the period were. Britain still had a powerful monarchy, as well as Germany and several other major nations. An advantage of a powerful monarchy was the ability to raise a unified army, regulate a unified economy, and establish a more unified language. However, Henri IV and Louis XIII were not nearly as powerful as many other monarchs. The nobles of the different regions still had great control over their territories and the king had relatively limited power in governing these regions. France had suffered from years of religious civil war before Henri IV assumed the throne and settled the religious conflict. France had relative peace for quite a while, until the nobles attempted to regain their former power with La Fronde. When Louis came of age in 1659, he assumed absolute power to finally settle the nobles' power grab and put them firmly under his thumb.He became the greatest singular power in France and amassed his own standing army to enforce his will, deter attacks by rival nations, and keep the nobles in their place. After years and years of internal struggle tearing the nation apart and making France vulnerable to outside attack, it is not surprising that Louis XIV consolidated national power in the most direct way without the objection of the people.

In retrospect, absolutism is seen generally as an abuse of power and an abuse of the lower classes. However, the people initially welcomed the extended power of Louis XIV. They saw new hope in a strong protector of France, both militarily and culturally. Louis XIV took French art in a different direction with neo-classicism. While the policies of the various cultural acadamies were restrictive, a notably nationalistic form of art arose. Great architectural works of art were also created according to Louis' rigid standards, such as the construction of the Chateau at Versailles and the renovation of the Louvre. During this time, the Academy of French Language had great influence and worked at refining the language to compete with the poetic eloquence of ancient Greek and Latin. As time passed, however, it became clear that Louis' extreme power was bankrupting the country. His personal extravagances, many small wars, and political dealings put the nation further and further in debt while also taxing the middle and lower taxes highly. While the beginnings of absolutism appear to have been beneficial, in hindsight, absolutism was ultimately detrimental to the state of France.