French Socialists Before Marx: Workers, Women And The Social Question In France, 1796-1852

This text traces French socialism's origins to the revolutionary communist, Gracchus Babeuf (1796). It examines how socialist ideas and aspirations were radically transformed within the 19th century and shows how the French parliamentary socialist groups can be understood through their predecessors. A reassessment of early socialist ideas and reforming strategies. It reveals a remarkable period of intellectual creativity and achievement wholly distinct from the post-1870 movement that has invariably formed the starting point for most histories of socialism. Annotation A well-written, well-researched textbook ... provides a clear introduction to a set of key political and social themes. A valuable introduction to an unjustly ignored moment in the history of left-wing political culture