A new craze swept France, as well as most of Europe, in the early nineteenth century. The oppressed society was exhausted from its continual battle against itself.
The
people sought change; they sought relief from the socio-economic labyrinth they had been spinning themselves dizzy in for their entire lives, and the lives of their fathers, and their fathers before them. Their minds wandered from the monotony of changing spools of thread in a textile mill or hauling buckets of water in that same mill to a land of liberty and equality-- their land of perfection.
Then suddenly a door opened. And above that door, in block letters, read the word "SOCIALISM". And standing beside, beckoning to all to enter, stood
François
Marie Charles Fourier.
Charles Fourier was born on April 7, 1772, in Besançon, France. The son of a prosperous cloth merchant, he was encouraged from an early age to pursue commerce. His father died when Charles was nine, leaving him an estate valuing in excess of 80,000 francs. Upon the advice of his family, Fourier entered the business world, despite his personal interests in the arts and sciences. He pursued an apprenticeship in
Lyons's
commercial system for four years, returning to Besançon in early 1793. He had spent his years wisely, traveling through much of France and exploring the "cultural and social diversity" of the places he visited. However, due to the turmoil and unstable state of
France at the time, the Fourier family lost all their property.
These
unfortunate circumstances brought Fourier's return to Paris. (Taylor
100)
It was here where he founded the basic principles of his socio-economic beliefs. He was given a first-hand view into the functioning of the economy, and he was disgusted by the corruption and deceit he discovered. Throughout his childhood, and adolescence, then carried into adulthood, he witnessed the severity of the distinctions between classes.
He matured in the aftermath of the French
Revolution, perhaps the most
"socially
incorrect" period in history. He witnessed the havoc the guillotine wreaked on the aristocracy while watching the chaos created by the poverty that resulted from over- taxation of the peasant class. He saw these two diametrically opposed groups as the root of all evil and sought to weaken the force that drove them apart. An enormous chasm existed between the upper and lower classes, and Fourier believed that if he could find a way to eliminate that, he would find true Utopia. He gradually began to develop an alternative social order.
In 1808 a book was published. It was appropriately titled Théorie des
Quatre
Mouvements et des Destinées Générales, or Theory of the Four Movements and the General
Destinies. Fourier was announcing to the world his discovery: not only were there natural laws, and laws of physics or science, there were social laws.
He
described the four "spheres", his name for divisions of activity-- the social, animal, organic and material, each governed by strict mathematical laws.
(Taylor 101) However, the only sphere that any discoveries had been made in so far was the material sphere,
the French Revolution. Hunt, Lynn & Censer, Jack. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press (2001)
There have been many wealthy men Throughout American history, many have been the topic of many heated debates among them, Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie at one time was the richest man in the world, who immediately after gaining that title began giving his money away. The impact and size of Carnegie’s philanthropic efforts are undeniable, but why he gave so much has been a topic of debate for nearly a century now. Carnegie’s rags to riches story is the epitome of the American dream and has been an inspiration to many entrepreneurs around the world.
The Scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries changed the way that people views the world. Scientific philosophers such as Galileo and Descartes threw out the old teachings of the church and challenged them with new ways of thinking. These men sought to prove that rational thought could prove the existence of God. They also challenged that it was an understanding of a series of rational thoughts, not faith, would bring understanding of how the world worked. Traditional ways of thinking were ultimately challenged by logical and sensible rationale.
First it is important to understand the French economy during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The working class people were struggling with their need to get by in life and feed their family and the internal call to make a choice and gain equality. The problem was that the proletariats did not have much of a choice at the time because if they did not work then they did not survive. The struggling class had to agree to what all the owners said and “whatever their status, the peasants continued to pay to their lord feudal dues on such land as they held on his estates." 2 It was clear that a social change was needed since the workers were being so abused and getting no reward for their efforts.
Throughout the mid-eighteen hundreds, the Metis and First Nations people saw a lot of changes due to the increased numbers of White settlements. Throughout their struggles, one Metis man stood up in defense of his people and land. This is a story of the life of Louis Riel, the man who changed it all. His background, his roots, his history.
“Socialism.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 Jan. 2012. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2 Feb. 2012. .
[7] Hunt, Lynn. Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution. Berkeley: U of California, 1984. Print.
Born from the revolutions of 1848 throughout Europe, Marxism sought to end the class struggles that were destroying the continent. The solution to the problems of all nations occurred to Marx to be Socialism, a branch that is presently known as Marxism. Under this seemingly “utopian” socioeconomic system, equality was granted to all citizens who were in essence a community of one. “. . . universal free education; arming of the people; a progressive income tax; limitations upon inheritance; state ownership of banks. . .”(Palmer 506). These rights of which constituted Marxism eventually went on to be incorporated in Leninism and modern-day socialism. At least in its beginning, the intent of Marxism and the Communist League were noble towards the goal o...
Each social class in France has its own reasons for wanting a change in government. The aristocracy was upset by the king’s power, while the Bourgeoisie was upset by the privileges of the aristocracy. The peasants and urban workers were upset by their burdensome existence. The rigid, unjust social structure meant that citizens were looking for change because “all social classes.had become uncomfortable and unhappy with the status quo.” (Nardo, 13)
Auguste Comte was born in the late eighteenth century. His family was devout Catholic’s, and enforced their religion onto him as a young child. Comte is viewed as a Positivistic- Organic theorist, and is known as the ‘Father of Sociology’. When Comte became older he began to turn his back on Catholicism. He was heavily influenced by Henri Saint- Simon, and Adam Smith. After working with Saint- Simon they had a falling out. Comte was married for a short time and referred to his marriage as a “domestic anchorage” (Coser, 17).
"We arrive at truth, not by reason only, but also by the heart"(1) said Blaise Pascal, one of the greatest minds of the 17th Century. The 17th Century was the time of the scientific revolution. During this period the main idea for everyone, was to question everything not to just listen to what is told. This caused a transformation in thought in both religious and scientific areas. Science allowed the questioning of the teachings of the old church. Scientists battled with ideas in math and physics, while philosophers battled with ideas of God. It was an intellectual revolution concerning the methods for determining humanity's place in the universe. Blaise Pascal was a physicist, a mathematician, and a man of God. He was a Renaissance man of the scientific revolution.
The bad living conditions of France and its depressed economy was one of the primary drivers for the French Revolution. The people of France were so poor that they had no shoes to wear and no food to eat. The poverty of France breaks its economy at its root. The economy got so bad that “By December 1788, there was a nationwide revolt against food shortages and rising prices, which continued to spread till the summer of 1789, when there was another bad harvest”(Todd 528). One ...
The societies of the modern day are shaped largely around the economic model or infrastructure that has been implement into the lives of citizens. These varying “economic models” alter the ways of domestic culture, and thus serve to be warranted much more attention and examination. Capitalism and Socialism are the two dominant ideologies that seem to invoke the opposite ends of the spectrum in the societal effect aspect. The far right capitalist, evoking a connotation of free business and anti-regulatory economic growth, comprised of a great deal of the Western world and provided a high risk-reward system that created a great number of wealthy elite and even more low-class blue collar workers. Conventional wisdom leads one to obviously find the opposing mindset with Socialism and its many degrees. The left wing socialist was characterized by a controlled economy and a strict government market. This system was heralded as system with no losers and social equality; thus, a gap-less population with a high standard of life. The course of this work will provide and explain the differences between Capitalism and Socialism; therefore, in the conclusion, the two societal roles will be defined. This will lead to a much more conclusive conclusion when examining, promoting, or denying either system.
The Scientific Revolution was sparked through Nicolaus Copernicusí unique use of mathematics. His methods developed from Greek astr...
At the start of the revolution, in 1789, France’s class system changed dramatically (Giddens, 2014). Aristocrats lost wealth and status, while those who were at the bottom of the social ladder, rose in positions. The rise of sociology involved the unorthodox views regarding society and man which were once relevant during the Enlightenment (Nisbet, 2014). Medievalism in France during the eighteenth century was still prevalent in its “legal structures, powerful guilds, in its communes, in the Church, in universities, and in the patriarchal family” (Nisbet, 2014). Philosophers of that time’s had an objective to attempt to eliminate the natural law theory of society (Nisbet, 2014). The preferred outcome was a coherent order in which the mobility of individuals would be unrestricted by the autonomous state (French Revolution). According to Karl Marx, economic status is extremely important for social change. The peasants felt the excess decadence of the ancient regime was at the expense of their basic standards of living, thus fuelling Marx’s idea of class based revolutions and the transition of society (Katz, 2014). This can be observed, for example, in novels such as Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel that had a role for mobilizing the attitudes of the