All Institutions the Result of Ideas 89 



in political institutions. Suppose that at a certain 

 moment a man pictures to himself a political 

 condition, not yet existent, e.g., parliamentary 

 institutions in an absolute monarchy. This man 

 carries through a certain series of measures and 

 obtains the desired result. The country passes 

 from an absolute regime to a constitutional 

 regime. This change is impossible if at some given 

 moment the constitutional regime has not existed 

 in the state of an idea and a future representation 

 in someone's mind. But a mental representation 

 is a series of psychic changes. All institutions, 

 then, are necessarily preceded by psychic changes, 

 by ideas. 



In the case of social or collective facts the psychic 

 movements are complicated by another element — 

 propaganda. It is not sufficient that a single indi- 

 vidual in a State which is an absolute monarchy 

 should conceive of constitutional institutions and 

 desire to apply them. It is necessary that a 

 large number of persons, the majority of the people 

 or at least the majority of the ruling class, should 

 desire these new institutions. The inventor of 

 the constitutional idea then, if we may use the 

 expression, must commence by communicating 

 his ideas to those around him. This gives rise to a 

 representation of a constitutional regime in other 

 brains like that which he already possesses in his 

 own. Then he must arouse a desire and a will 

 to realize it. When the agreement of wills is 

 put into operation the new institution becomes 



