Ideology in France
Socialism
Socialist ideology was born in France after 1815, probably because France was able to draw a certain number of lessons from the Revolution of 1789 and as a result of the close links established between romanticism and socialism after 1830.14
The Comte de Saint-Simon 
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The main source of inspiration to the development of French socialism was the Comte de Saint-Simon. His theories stressed the need to put an end to competition by organizing credit and industry, and it also sanctified labour and talent. These ideas opened the road to other French socialists who could elaborate Saint-Simon’s ideas. Utopian socialism, which developed in France between 1830 and 1848, stressed the need for small productive units and voluntarism. This socialism appealed particularly to artisans because it reflected an idealized artisanal past, and the leading socialist theorists were artisans like Pierre Joseph Proudhon and Louis Blanc. They attacked capitalism and advocated political democracy as the basis for worker control over state.15
Republicanism
The rapid spread of socialist ideas in France after 1830 blended with revolutionary republicanism. This again led to a revival of interest in the Great Revolution of 1789 and the Democratic Republic of 1793. A number of historical works dealing with the Great Revolution were published in the 1840s, and at the same time several socialist writers began publishing widely. Many openly republican newspapers also saw the light of day in the period between 1830 and 1848, in spite of the government’s actions against them. This increasing stream of information directly or indirectly attacked the existing regime and reached enough people to provide a challenge to the people in power.
Not only did the spread of the republican idea educate people; the various institutions set up to further the republican ideal prepared leaders.16 One of the most important of these movements was the Société des Droits de l’homme et du Citoyen, which was founded in 1833. It presented a social and political program based on the Declaration of Rights presented by Robespierre to the Convention during the First Republic. This movement called for universal suffrage, the organization of credit by the state, and the emancipation of the working class.17 The majority of these movements and organizations did not, however, have revolution as a final goal. They were interested in parliamentary reform, but the rigidity of the July Monarchy ultimately left them without realistic alternatives.
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