Saint-Simonianism
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
political and social movement of the first half of the 19th century, inspired by the ideas of Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon was a French early socialist theorist whose thought influenced the foundations of various 19th century philosophies; perhaps most notably Marxism, positivism and the discipline of sociology...
(1760–1825).
Saint-Simon has been "variously portrayed as a utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n socialist, the founder of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and a prescient madman". His ideas, expressed largely through a succession of journals such as l'Industrie (1816), La politique (1818) and L'Organisateur (1819–20) centered on a perception that growth in industrialization and scientific discovery would have profound changes on society. He believed, nonetheless, that society would restructure itself by abandoning traditional ideas of temporal and spiritual power, an evolution that would lead, inevitably, to a productive society based on, and benefiting from, a " ... union of men engaged in useful work", the basis of "true equality". These ideas influenced Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
(who was, for a time, Saint-Simon's secretary), Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
, and many other thinkers and social theorists.
Saint-Simon's writings
Saint-Simon's earliest publications, such as his Introduction aux travaux scientifiques du XIXe siècle (Introduction to scientific discoveries of the 19th century) (1803) and his Mémoire sur la science de l'homme (Notes on the study of man) (1813), (the latter of which is a eulogy to Napoleon), demonstrate his faith in science as a means to regenerate society. In his 1814 essay De la réorganisation de la société européenne (On the reorganisation of European society), written in collaboration with his then secretary Augustin Thierry, Saint-Simon seems to have foreseen the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, expecting however that England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
would take the lead in forming a continent sharing the same laws and institutions.
For his last decade Saint-Simon concentrated on themes of political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. Together with Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
, (then only a teenager), Saint-Simon projected a society bypassing the changes of the French Revolution, in which science and industry would take the moral and temporal power of medieval theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
.
In his last work however, Le Nouveau Christianisme (The New Christianity) (1825), Saint-Simon reverted to more traditional ideas of renewing society through Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
brotherly love
The New Commandment
The New Commandment refers to the admonition given by Jesus to His Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper, as recorded in the Gospel of John :According to the Synoptic Gospels, a similar thought was expressed by Jesus two days previously when He spoke at the Temple in Jerusalem and quoted what is...
. He died shortly after its publication.
The arts
In his last years and in the period after his death, Saint-Simon's ideas, which gave prominence to art as a prized aspect of work, interested numerous artists and musicians, amongst them Hector BerliozHector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, Félicien David (who wrote a number of hymns for the movement) and Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
. For a brief period, the historian and writer Léon Halévy
Léon Halévy
Léon Halévy , was a French civil servant, historian, and dramatist.Born to a Jewish family, the son of the writer and chazzan Élie Halévy, Léon was the younger brother of the composer Jacques François Fromenthal Halévy.After finishing a course at the Lycée Charlemagne, Halévy became a disciple and...
acted as secretary to the philosopher.
The movement after Saint-Simon's death
Following Saint-Simon's death, his followers began to differ as to how to promulgate his ideas. A 'charismatic' faction, led by Barthélemy Prosper EnfantinBarthélemy Prosper Enfantin
Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin was a French social reformer, one of the founders of Saint-Simonianism.-Early life:...
purchased the newspaper Le Globe
Le Globe
Le Globe was a French newspaper, published between 1824 and 1832, created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux. After 1828, the paper became political and Liberal in tone....
as their official organ, and formed an increasingly religiously-minded ritualistic group based on a community founded at Ménilmontant
Ménilmontant
Ménilmontant is a neighbourhood of Paris, situated in the city's 20th arrondissement. It is affectionately known to locals as "Ménilmuche".-History:...
, before being banned by the authorities in 1832. Following this some of Enfantin's followers visited North Africa or the Middle East in search of Messianic
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
revelations, and the formal Saint-Simonian movement expired.
However, others who had been associated with the group and were not so interested in the increasingly bizarre antics of Enfantin, (such as Olinde Rodrigues
Olinde Rodrigues
Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues , more commonly known as Olinde Rodrigues, was a French banker, mathematician, and social reformer.Rodrigues was born into a well-to-do Sephardi Jewish family in Bordeaux....
and Gustave d'Eichthal
Gustave d'Eichthal
Gustave Séligmann d'Eichthal was a French writer, publicist, and Hellenist.-Life:...
) developed Saint-Simonian notions practically and involved themselves in the development of the French economy, founding a number of leading concerns including the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
Company and the bank Crédit Mobilier
Crédit Mobilier
Crédit Mobilier was a French banking company, and one of the most important financial institutions of the world during the 19th century. It had a major role in the financing of numerous railroads and other infrastructure projects in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by mobilizing the savings...
.
People associated with the movement
- Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-SimonClaude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-SimonClaude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon was a French early socialist theorist whose thought influenced the foundations of various 19th century philosophies; perhaps most notably Marxism, positivism and the discipline of sociology...
(1760–1825), for whom the movement is named - Amand BazardAmand BazardSaint-Amand Bazard was a French socialist, the founder of a secret society in France corresponding to the Carbonari of Italy....
(1791–1832), socialist - Philippe BuchezPhilippe BuchezPhilippe-Joseph-Benjamin Buchez , more commonly called Philippe Buchez, was a French historian, sociologist, and politician. He was the founder of the newspaper, L'Atelier, and he served briefly, in 1848, as the president of the Constituent National Assembly, which was then meeting at the Palais...
(1796–1865), historian, sociologist, and politician - Michel ChevalierMichel ChevalierMichel Chevalier was a French engineer, statesman, economist and free market liberal.-Biography:Born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Chevalier studied at the École Polytechnique, obtaining an engineering degree at the Paris École des mines in 1829.In 1830, after the July Revolution, he became a...
(1806–1878), statesman, economist and free-market liberal - Auguste ComteAuguste ComteIsidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
(1798–1857), first philosopher of science
- Félicien David (1810–1876), composer
- Gustave d'EichthalGustave d'EichthalGustave Séligmann d'Eichthal was a French writer, publicist, and Hellenist.-Life:...
(1804–1886), writer and publicist - Barthélemy Prosper EnfantinBarthélemy Prosper EnfantinBarthélemy Prosper Enfantin was a French social reformer, one of the founders of Saint-Simonianism.-Early life:...
(1796–1864), social reformer - Léon HalévyLéon HalévyLéon Halévy , was a French civil servant, historian, and dramatist.Born to a Jewish family, the son of the writer and chazzan Élie Halévy, Léon was the younger brother of the composer Jacques François Fromenthal Halévy.After finishing a course at the Lycée Charlemagne, Halévy became a disciple and...
(1802–1833), historian - Olinde RodriguesOlinde RodriguesBenjamin Olinde Rodrigues , more commonly known as Olinde Rodrigues, was a French banker, mathematician, and social reformer.Rodrigues was born into a well-to-do Sephardi Jewish family in Bordeaux....
(1794–1851), banker and mathematician