Paul Brousse
Encyclopedia
Paul Brousse was a French
socialist, leader of the possibilistes group. He was active in the Jura Federation
, a section of the International Working Men's Association (IWMA), from the northwestern part of Switzerland
and the Alsace
. He helped edit the Bulletin de la Fédération Jurassienne, along with anarchist
Peter Kropotkin
. He was in contact with Gustave Brocher between 1877 and 1880, who became anarchist under Brousse's influence. Paul Brousse edited two newspapers, one in French and another in German. He helped James Guillaume
publish its bulletin.
Paul Brousse studied medicine
and travelled to Barcelona
in his youth. He then joined the IWMA and participated to the Geneva Congress in September 1873, seeing anarchism as the only possible social organization. On March 18, 1877, he took part in Bern in a demonstration in remembrance of the 1871 Paris Commune
, which ended in riots with the police. Paul Brousse was subsequently condemned to one month of prison. On April 15, 1879, he is again sentenced to two months of prison, and then expulsed from Switzerland, for having published an article in L'Avant-Garde which legitimized the propaganda of the deed
attempts of Max Hödel
and Karl Nobiling
. Paul Brousse then returned to France in 1880 and progressively became more reformist. He began to take part in the French Workers' Party
(POF) and then, after a scission, to the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France
(FTSF), which became known as the "possibilists". He voted at the August 1886 international congress in London along with Jules Guesde
for the expulsion of the "anti-authoritarian
socialists", as were known the anarchists. The possibilists then joined Jean Jaurès
's French Socialist Party
in 1902, which fused with others movements in 1905 to create the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO).
, Weidenfeld & Nicolson London, 1971.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
socialist, leader of the possibilistes group. He was active in the Jura Federation
Jura federation
The Jura Federation was the federalist and anarchist section of the International Workingmen's Association , based largely among watch-makers in the Jura mountain range in Switzerland. The Jura federation was founded on October 9, 1870 at a meeting in Saint-Imier of local sections of the IWA...
, a section of the International Working Men's Association (IWMA), from the northwestern part of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
. He helped edit the Bulletin de la Fédération Jurassienne, along with anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
. He was in contact with Gustave Brocher between 1877 and 1880, who became anarchist under Brousse's influence. Paul Brousse edited two newspapers, one in French and another in German. He helped James Guillaume
James Guillaume
James Guillaume was a leading member of the Jura federation of the First International, the anarchist wing of the International. Later, Guillaume would take an active role in the founding of the Anarchist St...
publish its bulletin.
Paul Brousse studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and travelled to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in his youth. He then joined the IWMA and participated to the Geneva Congress in September 1873, seeing anarchism as the only possible social organization. On March 18, 1877, he took part in Bern in a demonstration in remembrance of the 1871 Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
, which ended in riots with the police. Paul Brousse was subsequently condemned to one month of prison. On April 15, 1879, he is again sentenced to two months of prison, and then expulsed from Switzerland, for having published an article in L'Avant-Garde which legitimized the propaganda of the deed
Propaganda of the deed
Propaganda of the deed is a concept that refers to specific political actions meant to be exemplary to others...
attempts of Max Hödel
Max Hödel
Emil Max Hödel was a plumber from Leipzig, Germany who became known for a failed assassination. A former member of the Leipzig Social-Democratic Association, he was expelled from the organization in the 1870s and eventually became involved in anarchism.Hödel used a revolver to shoot at the German...
and Karl Nobiling
Karl Nobiling
Karl Eduard Nobiling was a German assassin who attacked Wilhelm I of Germany. Born in the Gummersbach district of western Germany, Nobiling studied agriculture and received a doctor's degree in 1876...
. Paul Brousse then returned to France in 1880 and progressively became more reformist. He began to take part in the French Workers' Party
French Workers' Party
The Parti Ouvrier Français was the first Marxist party in France, created in 1880 by Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, Marx's son-in-law...
(POF) and then, after a scission, to the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France
Federation of the Socialist Workers of France
France's first socialist party, the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France , was founded in 1879. It was characterised as "possibilist" because it promoted gradual reforms.-Formation:...
(FTSF), which became known as the "possibilists". He voted at the August 1886 international congress in London along with Jules Guesde
Jules Guesde
Jules Basile Guesde was a French socialist journalist and politician.Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter to Guesde and Paul Lafargue, both of whom already claimed to represent "Marxist" principles...
for the expulsion of the "anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as a "political doctrine advocating the principle of absolute rule: absolutism, autocracy, despotism, dictatorship, totalitarianism." Anti-authoritarians usually believe in full equality before the law and strong civil...
socialists", as were known the anarchists. The possibilists then joined Jean Jaurès
Jean Jaurès
Jean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...
's French Socialist Party
French Socialist Party (1902)
The French Socialist Party was founded in 1902. It came from the merger of the "possibilist" Federation of the Socialist Workers of France , Jean Allemane's Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party and some independent socialist politicians like Jean Jaurès...
in 1902, which fused with others movements in 1905 to create the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO).
Further reading
From anarchism to reformism: a study of the political activities of Paul Brousse 1870-90, by David StaffordDavid A. T. Stafford
David Stafford , full name David Alexander Tetlow Stafford, is projects director at Edinburgh University's Centre for the Study of the Two World Wars and Leverhulme Emeritus Professor in the University's School of History, Classics, and Archaeology.Stafford took his B.A. at Cambridge University in...
, Weidenfeld & Nicolson London, 1971.