ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

A Satire of the Three Estates

Once upon a time, there was a story called "The Three Estates." It was like a play that people performed to make fun of how society was organized. The story had three main characters: the First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate.

The First Estate were the fancy people, like kings, queens, and nobles. They had lots of money and power, but they didn't really do anything useful. They just sat around all day and ordered other people around.

The Second Estate were the religious people, like priests and bishops. They also had money and power, but they were supposed to be closer to God. They spent a lot of time praying and telling other people how to be good.

The Third Estate were everybody else – the farmers, merchants, and workers. They were the ones who actually did all the work and made everything happen, but they didn't have much money or power. They were just trying to get by and take care of their families.

In the story, the three estates went to a big meeting to talk about how to make things better. But of course, the First and Second Estates didn't want to give up any of their power or money. They just told the Third Estate to be quiet and do what they were told.

The Third Estate didn't like that very much, so they got together and decided to make some changes. They wrote down a list of things they wanted, like better working conditions and more rights. They even made a new flag to show that they were all in it together.

Eventually, things did start to change. The Third Estate got more power and respect, and the First and Second Estates had to listen to them more. But it took a lot of work and a lot of time.

So, the story of the Three Estates was like a funny way to point out how things were unfair and how people needed to work together to make things better. And even though it was a long time ago, the lessons from the story still apply today.