Today in Labor History May 28, 1797: French authorities executed proto-anarchist revolutionary Gracchus Babeuf. Babeuf formed a secret society during the time of the French Revolution, known as the Conspiracy of the Equals, that plotted to overthrow the revolutionary government, and replace it with one that was truer to Jacobin ideals. The group included Sylvain Maréchal, Jacques Roux, Jean Varlet and others. Specifically, they called for a society with absolute equality, through the collectivization of all lands and the means of production, and putting an end to all poverty, at least for citizens of France. They also called for the abolition of private property and equal access to food, demands that resonated heavily among the impoverished French population, who were suffering from hunger during the economic crisis that followed the Revolution. However, their manifesto did not include the enslaved people living in French colonies. By early April, 1796, half a million Parisians were in need of relief. And people began singing Babeuf’s song, Mourant de faim, mourant de froid ("Dying of Hunger, Dying of Cold"), in the cafés.
Throughout his life, Babeuf advocated for the poor and for the abolition of private property. He said "Society must be made to operate in such a way that it eradicates once and for all the desire of a man to become richer, or wiser, or more powerful than others."
#workingclass #LaborHistory #french #Revolution #jacobin #poverty #hunger #equality #babeuf #jacquesroux
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