SOURCE: “The Philosopher of Socialism,” in Louis Blanc: His Life and His Contribution to the Rise of French Jacobin-Socialism, Northwestern University Press, 1961, pp. 31-48.

In the following essay, Loubère details the socialist thought of Louis Blanc.

I

Louis Blanc convinced himself that it was possible to achieve broad reform without resorting to a Reign of Terror. One had merely to describe social evils to move men's hearts and then to explain the means of erasing such evils to inspire their reason. With this self-granted mandate in mind he put forth a socialist program intended to complement his political ideas. It appeared first in June and August, 1840, as a series of articles in his review, then in September as a book entitled, Organisation du travail. The book was just a slight expansion of the articles, and yet, it brought him greater fame than all his multivolume histories. The...