Edmond Potonié (1829–1902), commonly known as Edmond Potonié-Pierre, was a French

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Pacifist activism

During the 1850s, Potonié-Pierre was inspired by Richard Cobden's Anti-Corn Law League and aimed to do similar in France. He learnt German and Italian while travelling around Europe, and developed the liberal economics of his father to make it more

socialistic Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

and cooperative. During the 1860s, he associated with notable thinkers like

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

, Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch, Frédéric Passy, and Rudolf Virchow. After receiving financial support from

Henry Richard Henry Richard (3 April 1812 – 20 August 1888) was a Congregational minister and Welsh Member of Parliament between 1868–1888. Richard was an advocate of peace and international arbitration, as secretary of the Peace Society for forty year ...

, Potonié-Pierre founded the (Public Good League). The attacked monopolies and high levels of taxation while advocating individual freedom and organised world peace. Despite earlier support, Potonié-Pierre disagreed with Passy over his (International and Permanent League of Peace) due to Passy's legalistic approach towards peace and Potonié-Pierre's approach of

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

. In 1868, the papers detailing his international contacts were seized by the French police, and their status remains unknown.

Family

Potonié-Pierre's father was an entrepreneur, a friend of the author

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

. Potonié-Pierre was the partner of

Eugénie Potonié-Pierre Eugénie Potonié-Pierre (1844–1898 Paris) was a French feminist who founded the Federation of French Feminist Societies in 1892. She joined the Society for the Amelioration of Women's Condition with Léon Richer and Maria Deraismes in the 18 ...

( Pierre), the French feminist. They refused to marry, but lived together and took each other's names. They worked together to free exiled communards, bring women the vote, campaign against poverty, and cut military expenses.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potonie-Pierre, Edmond 1829 births 1902 deaths French pacifists French socialists