Alternative Socio-Economic Ideas, 1789-1871

Goals and Objectives:

The central objective of this research project is to begin the recovery of lost and under-appreciated ideas, proposals and illustrations of concrete efforts to build alternative socio-economic systems, with a view to exploring their contemporary relevance. The project will unearth largely neglected texts written between the French Revolution (1789) and the Paris Commune (the first revolutionary government of the working class in 1871). The tumultuous period after the French Revolution inspired a significant body of literature outlining novel social and political ideas. Core texts from this period include academic writings and influential works of political propaganda addressing the variety of alternatives to capitalism either conceived in their entirety or proposed in terms of basic principles. These texts will be mined not only for their historical significance, but also for their insight into many of the enduring economic issues, paradoxes and struggles of contemporary capitalism. The main outcome of the research is the publication of an anthology that will collate these original texts and ideas. 

The chosen texts will be organized chronologically within themes that remain relevant today. Each piece will be accompanied with a brief introductory note that will identify: its date of composition and/or publication; its context; key information about its author; and details of where the text in question was first published and appeared in full. The anthology will be an accessible collection, suitable both for scholars and students. Limited to a single volume of 150,000 words, it will provide a meaningful, though not exhaustive, entry into the development of alternative socio-economic conceptions as a response to the industrial revolution and growth of capitalist social relations. This collection will be a valuable resource for a broad audience drawn to consider contemporary social alternatives, comprising academics, students, policymakers, union members and workers in non-governmental agencies. 

Studies of alternatives to capitalism have grown significantly in recent years and a sizable literature on the subject has emerged. It is striking, however, that notwithstanding a wealth of insights, these works only rarely and tangentially take account of the first flowering of socio-economic alternatives from the period following the French Revolution. While there is greater awareness of the issues and contradictions of more developed industrial capitalist society in recent formulations, the project adds significantly to the scholarly literature by unearthing insights from an intense period of economic change and distilling lessons from these early articulations of alternatives, including possibilities not pursued, developments and ideas that formed early foundations for growth of capitalism and its critics.

 Specifically, the anthology will: 

1. provide, with the introduction written by the PI, an innovative critical reading of the pursuit of socio-economic alternatives, that will be distinct from the largely ideological reconstructions developed over the course of the twentieth century; 
2. offer a rigorous, but readily accessible, selection of the full range of writings on the critiques of capitalism as they emerged in the 19th century; 
3. glean insight from this material to provide new theoretical ideas capable of informing policies and political debate, in Canada and elsewhere, particularly in light of the new trends and developments in economic globalization, migration of labour, and the challenges of reconciling economics and democracy; 
4. encourage reflection on the similarities and differences between the challenges confronted in relation to 19th century capitalism, and the issues addressed by labour organizations and global protest movements in contemporary society.