French Socialism

Term Paper # 104395

History > European - 19th century
Philosophy
Political Science > Marx / Engels

French Socialism

An overview of socialism in France in the 19th century.

1,791 words () | 9 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper deals with socialism in the nineteenth century. In particular, it includes a summary of those events that affected the rise of socialism in France, such as the various revolutions prompted by the conditions of the working class. It also details the prominent philosophers of socialism in France, such as Karl Marx, Charles Fourier, and Henri Saint-Simon, and the after effects of this theory on the country of France.

From the Paper:

"France in the nineteenth century was a broken country that had so far experienced one of the bloodiest revolutions mankind had ever known. In the last decade of the eighteenth century, the working class of France (the proletariat, as Marx would later refer to them) rose up against the aristocratic class that had so far managed to ignore their pleas about starvation and better wages entirely. In the uprising, the aristocratic class was hunted down and imprisoned or killed in a gory coup. The events leading up to this pivotal revolution, that would go on to inspire many others in other countries, also inspired the ideas of socialism. Many noted philosophers of the time witnessed these catastrophic events unfold, and saw that by simply taking away the cultural and economic distinction between the upper classes and the lower classes, such crises could be averted in the future. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Fried, A., & Sanders, R. (1993). Socialist thought: A documentary history. Chichester, NY: Columbia University Press.
Hugo, Victor. (2007). Les Miserables. New York: NY: Pocket Books
Kurasje, A. (2006). 1958-1998: Communism in France. Retrieved March 5th, 2007, from http://libcom.org/library/communism-france-sob-ico-echanges
Marx, K. (1973). Surveys from exile: Political writings volume II. New York: Random House.
Merriam-Webster. (2007). Socialism. Retrieved March 5th, 2007, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism