Jules Bazile, known as Jules Guesde (; 11 November 1845 – 28 July 1922) was a French

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

journalist and politician. Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter to Guesde and

Paul Lafargue Paul Lafargue (; 15 January 1842 – 25 November 1911) was a Cuban- Haitian revolutionary Marxist socialist, political writer, economist, journalist, literary critic, and activist; he was Karl Marx's son-in-law having married his second dau ...

, both of whom already claimed to represent " Marxist" principles. Marx accused them of "revolutionary phrase-mongering". This exchange is the source of Marx's remark, reported by

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' f they are Marxists

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

I myself am not a Marxist").

Biography

Early years

Jules Bazile was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, on the Ile-St-Louis. He began his career as a clerk in the Interior Ministry. He wrote in republican newspapers under the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

and chose "Jules Guesde" as a pen name after his mother's name, Eléonore Guesde. On the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, he was editing ''Les Droits de l'Homme'' at Montpellier, and had to take refuge in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1871 from a prosecution instituted on account of articles which had appeared in his paper in defence of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. There he read the works of

. In 1876, he returned to France to become one of the chief French advocates of

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

, being imprisoned for six months in 1878 for taking part in the first Parisian International Congress. He edited at different times ''Les Droits de l’Homme'', ''Le Cri du peuple'', and ''Le Socialiste'', but his best-known organ was the weekly ''Égalité''. Guesde, who was in prison at the time, was the author of a resolution moved by the delegates from Paris at the Socialist Workers' Congress (1879) and carried by a large majority. It was: Guesde had been in close association with

, and through him with

, whose daughter Lafargue had married. It was in conjunction with Marx and Lafargue that he drew up the programme accepted by the National Congress of the

French Workers' Party The French Workers' Party (french: Parti Ouvrier Français, POF) was the French socialist party created in 1880 by Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, Karl Marx's son-in-law (famous for having written '' The Right to Be Lazy'', which criticized work ...

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

in 1880, which laid stress on the formation of an international labour party working by

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

ary methods. The following year, at the Reims Congress, the orthodox Marxist programme of Guesde was opposed by the "''possibilists''", who rejected the intransigent attitude of Guesde for the

reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...

policy of

Paul Brousse Paul Brousse (; 23 January 18441 April 1912) was a French socialist, leader of the '' possibilistes'' group. He was active in the Jura Federation, a section of the International Working Men's Association (IWMA), from the northwestern part of Swit ...

and

Benoît Malon Benoît Malon (23 June 1841 – 13 September 1893), was a French Socialist, writer, communard, and political leader. Biography Malon came from a poor peasant family. An opportunity to escape the life of a rural labourer presented itself whe ...

Leader of the ''intransigents''

At the Congress of Saint-Étienne, the difference developed into division. Those who refused all compromise with a

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

government followed Guesde, while the reformists formed several groups. Guesde took his full share in the consequent discussions between the Guesdists, the

Blanquists Blanquism refers to a conception of revolution generally attributed to Louis Auguste Blanqui (1805–1881) which holds that socialist revolution should be carried out by a relatively small group of highly organised and secretive conspirators. Havi ...

, the Possibilists, and others. In 1893 he was returned to the Chamber of Deputies for

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...

, with a large majority over the

Christian Socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

and Radical candidates. He brought forward various proposals in social legislation forming the programme of the Workers' Party, without reference to the divisions among the Socialists, and, on 20 November 1894, succeeded in raising a two days' discussion of the collectivist principle in the Chamber. In 1902 he was not re-elected, but resumed his seat in 1906. In 1903 there was a formal reconciliation at the Reims Congress of the sections of the party, which then took the name of the

Socialist Party of France The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...

. All socialist tendencies were then unified in 1905 in the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), the French section of the

Second International The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued th ...

. Guesde, nevertheless, continued to oppose the reformist policy of

Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; oc, Joan Jaurés ), was a French Socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became one of the first social dem ...

, whom he denounced for supporting one "'' bourgeois''" party against another. In 1900, he had already opposed him on the question of socialist participation in "''bourgeois''" government. See the November 26, 1900 discourse
On Two Methods
', an

/ref> His defence of the principle of freedom of association led him, incongruously enough, to support the religious Congregations against

Émile Combes Émile Justin Louis Combes (; 6 September 183525 May 1921) was a French statesman and freemason who led the Bloc des gauches's cabinet from June 1902 to January 1905. Career Émile Combes was born in Roquecourbe, Tarn. He studied for the pri ...

's Separation of the Churches and the State. During the revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers on 11 June 1907 Jaurès, who defended the vine growers cause in the Chamber of Deputies, filed a counter-bill with Jules Guesde. The two socialist deputies proposed nationalization of the wine estates.

Later life

The outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, which was regarded as threatening France's existence, had the effect of changing the uncompromising attitude of Guesde. In August 1914, while the Reformist Jaurès was assassinated due to his opposition to the war, Guesde was included in the national unity government of

René Viviani Jean Raphaël Adrien René Viviani (; 8 November 18637 September 1925) was a French politician of the Third Republic, who served as Prime Minister for the first year of World War I. He was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, in French Algeria. In France ...

as a Minister without Portfolio, and continued to serve in that role until the end of 1916. During this period, he adopted patriotic positions and sometimes even

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

views. Guesde thought that the war would give birth to a social revolution in France and would thus be the starting point of an international revolution. After the armistice, in the Congress of Tours, he chose the “old house” SFIO following Léon Blum and

Jean Longuet Jean-Laurent-Frederick Longuet (5 October 1876 – 11 September 1938) was a French socialist politician and journalist. He was Karl Marx's grandson. Early years Jean, often called 'Johnny' as a boy by his family, was born in London on October 5 ...

, against the majority which created the French Section of the Communist International, the future

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

, for which he was condemned by

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

Death and legacy

Guesde died on 28 July 1922. Besides his numerous political and socialist pamphlets, in 1901, he published two volumes of his speeches in the Chamber of Deputies entitled ''Quatre ans de lutte de classe 1893-1898'' (''Four years of class struggle'').

Footnotes

Sources

* *

External links

* Archive o
Jules Guesde Papers
at the

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figu ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guesde, Jules 1845 births 1922 deaths Politicians from Paris Federation of the Socialist Workers of France politicians French Workers' Party politicians Socialist Party of France (1902) politicians French Section of the Workers' International politicians Government ministers of France Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French journalists Writers from Paris Members of the International Workingmen's Association French male non-fiction writers