SOURCE: An introduction to "Social Foundations of Contemporary Economics", by Georges Sorel, translated by John L. Stanley, Transaction Books, 1984, pp. 1-34.

In the following excerpt, Stanley examines the influence of the writings of Henri Bergson, William James, and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon on the writings of Sorel.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Georges Sorel's political and social thought is the difficulty one has in attempting to classify it. Just when we think we have Sorel conveniently pigeonholed into some tidy little category (protofascist being a recent favorite), he fools us by putting forth ideas which at first seem to be in complete contradition to all our preconceptions.

This elusiveness is partly responsible for the allegations of "shocking inconsistency" and negativism leveled against Sorel. These allegations have some truth. Anyone like Sorel born in France in the middle of the nineteenth century had numerous political traditions from which to choose...