The end of the Restoration and the consequences of the 1830 Revolution bequeathed to France a  'reduced to dust' society. In the debate on the possible factors of civil rebirth assumed a major relevance the role recognized to journals and encyclopedias in the dissemination of knowledge, seen as a way to promote democracy. Walter Tega analyzes in this book the point of view of the leading intellectuals of the period about the relationship between science and policy.