Autocatalysis

Autocatalysis

In an autocatalytic reaction, a product acts as a catalyst for further production of itself. The reaction still requires reactants and suitable conditions. The analogy in social life is a process whose results encourage more of the activity that produced them.

Louis XV(*)[part0057.html#star-link-13] of France was just such a person. Going into the 18th century in France, and Europe in general, homes were decorated to show off one’s wealth and possessions. They weren’t private sanctuaries, but rather public displays of status. By the mid-18th century the home as a public space had changed. Homes became designed for comfort and intimacy. We went from straight-backed wooden chairs to padded sofas, and public privies to private flush toilets.4 It was incredible, and now most of us couldn’t conceive of going back. Thus, we all owe a small debt to Louis XV for embracing the desire to have a comfortable home.

Part of the change to seeing the home as a private space was a result of larger social changes that were occurring. The upper classes were moving around less due to more stable political situations. Technological advancement was booming, leading to a new look at things like indoor plumbing and central heating. And, perhaps most importantly, the Enlightenment was developing, placing emphasis on individual liberty and the sharing of knowledge and ideas. One consequence of these changes was that French royalty no longer wanted to be uncomfortable at the palace.

During his reign, Louis XV transformed Versailles from an uncomfortable and public space to a place that reflected the desire of individuals to live in a place they could also enjoy. He created almost a parallel palace of interior rooms where he, his family, and close confidantes could exist outside of the public eye. He replaced wooden footstools with legions of sofas and armchairs and made it perfectly acceptable for intimate acquaintances to sit in the presence of the king. In his private rooms he was just Louis. He installed indoor plumbing and flush toilets in their own private rooms. For the first time guests at Versailles didn’t have to relieve themselves in the hallways. Bedrooms were no longer places where anyone could wander through. Rooms were smaller and had specific functions. In short, Louis XV put in place many aspects of the modern home.5

Importantly, Louis didn’t invent any of these things. The account links his tastes with changes begun at Versailles by the Marquise de Montespan and with his own mistress, the Marquise de Pompadour, who embraced comfort and privacy. They, in turn, were influenced by the changes and developments happening in society around them.6

Therefore it is quite possible that the widespread acceptance of the standards of comfort and privacy would have come to pass anyway. But, as Joan DeJean writes in The Age of Comfort, “The invention of modern comfort was a vast, and vastly costly, enterprise, one that transformed first the look of royal residences and then the cityscape of Paris, and did so, furthermore, in fast-forward mode, so rapidly that contemporaries kept repeating that it was all happening as if by magic.”7

Early adoption by Louis XV and the royalty made comfort desirable and cheaper. The more people who wanted comfort, the more who bought into comfort, the more the prices lowered. This created a feedback loop where comfortable elements for the home became accessible to more and more people. Louis XV helped to make comfort both socially acceptable and financially affordable.