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''Maurrassisme'' is a political doctrine originated by
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-par ...
(1868–1952), most closely associated with the ''
Action française
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
'' movement. ''Maurassisme'' advocates absolute
integral nationalism
Integral nationalism (french: nationalisme intégral) is a type of nationalism that originated in 19th-century France, was theorized by Charles Maurras and mainly expressed in the ultra-royalist circles of ''Action Française''. The doctrine is ...
,
monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
,
corporatism
Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
,
national syndicalism
National syndicalism is a far-right adaptation of syndicalism to suit the broader agenda of integral nationalism. National syndicalism developed in France in the early 20th century, and then spread to Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It is general ...
, and opposition to
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
,
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
,
capitalism
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 ...
, and
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
.
The doctrine of ''Maurrassisme''
A state of decadence
''Maurrassisme'' had as its ambition to be a counter-revolutionary doctrine, affirming the cohesion of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and its greatness. It began from a slogan "Politics first", from a postulate,
patriotism, which the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
had erased in preference to
nationalism
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: The ...
, and a state: for Maurras, the French society of the late 19th century was undermined by decadence and corruption. According to him, these ills arose from the Revolution and caused their paroxysm in the
Dreyfus affair
The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...
. Maurras'
philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
influences ranged from
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
and
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
to
Joseph de Maistre
Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (; 1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his clo ...
, passing through
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...
,
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...
and
Auguste Comte. His historical influences ranged from
Sainte-Beuve to
Fustel de Coulanges
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges (; 18 March 1830 – 12 September 1889) was a French historian. Joseph M. McCarthy argues that his first great book, '' The Ancient City'' (1864), was based on his in-depth knowledge of the primary Greek and Latin te ...
passing through
Hippolyte Taine
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (, 21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) was a French historian, critic and philosopher. He was the chief theoretical influence on French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism and one of the first practition ...
and
Ernest Renan.
At fault, for Maurras, was the revolutionary and romanic spirit, borne by the liberal forces which he called the four confederated states (''États confédérés''), defined by him in 1949 in ''Pour un jeune Français'': the
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s, the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
s, the
freemasons and foreigners whom Maurras called "
metics
In ancient Greece, a metic ( Ancient Greek: , : from , , indicating change, and , 'dwelling') was a foreign resident of Athens, one who did not have citizen rights in their Greek city-state ('' polis'') of residence.
Origin
The history of foreign ...
" (''métèques''). These represented the "anti-France"; they could not in any way be admitted as part of the French nation.
Maurras' solution: order, reason, classicism and liberties
''Maurrassisme'' seems to have been born from a desire for order in the young Charles Maurras, attributed by some to his deafness.
*In philosophy, this desire for order incurred an unconditional attachment to
reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
.
*In art, the defense of
classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...
against the "deviant" directions of
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
.
*In politics, he implied aiming for a regime based on authority. But for Maurras, a regionalist
Provençal poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
, authority had to accord with the respect for regional liberties – a stipulation which, according to him, could only be found in
monarchy
A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...
. Maurras thus became a
royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
on principle in 1896.
More precisely with regard to politics, ''Maurrasisme'' rested on the following policies to ensure national cohesion:
*The exclusion from the nation of the four "confederated states", and the exaltation of the national interest ("only France"),
*Putting in place institutions charged with simultaneously guaranteeing the regional freedoms of the "real Nation" and maintaining national unity (for Maurras this institution was the Monarchy).
*In morality, the magisterium of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as a unifying cement, and a creator and model of order.
A political model based on the "Real Country" (pays réel)
In the line of positivism, Maurras considered that societal organisation and institution ought to be the fruit of the selection imposed by the centuries, "organising empiricism" being considered more effective than idealized theories, because of its being adapted to each national situation. Monarchy played a part in these institutions, which were necessary notably to restrain Frankish-French rivalries.
The confidence in institutions forged by time led Maurras to distinguish the "Real Country" (''pays réel''), rooted in the realities of life — locality, work, trades, the parish and the family — from the "Legal Country" (''pays légal'') which he cast as artificially imposed on the "Real". These thoughts revisited
organicist
Organicism is the philosophical position that states that the universe and its various parts (including human societies) ought to be considered alive and naturally ordered, much like a living organism.Gilbert, S. F., and S. Sarkar. 2000. "Embra ...
themes of Catholic political tradition.
Maurras' institutional instinct also owed much to his initial
federalism and his affiliation to the
Félibrige
The ''Félibrige'' (; in classical Occitan, in Mistralian spelling, ) is a literary and cultural association founded in 1854 by Frédéric Mistral and other Provençal writers to defend and promote the Occitan language (also called the ) and ...
movement of
Mistral
Mistral may refer to:
* Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia
Automobiles
* Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970
* Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006
* Microp ...
. He saw in monarchy the key to the vault of
decentralisation. He considered that the people's direct attachment to the sovereign's authority and the moral cement of the Catholic Church were unifying forces which would be enough to ensure national unity in a largely decentralized political system. The republic, by contrast, could only achieve these aims by being constrained by the iron belt of Napoleonic centralized administration. His vision was authority on high, with freedom beneath.
It may be noted that it was through pragmatism and obsession with civil war that, in 1914 as in 1940, Maurras remained faithful to his principle of nationalist compromise, or the ''union nationale'' in time of crisis, and supported both
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...
and
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...
in this.
Place in the history of political ideas
A new political synthesis
In terms of political institutions Maurras had been a
legitimist
The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They ...
in his youth, then a federalist republican, but rediscovered royalism (although as a supporter of the
Orléanist
Orléanist (french: Orléaniste) was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during that cent ...
s) in 1896 through a political argument: kings had created France, and France had been degenerating since 1789. As a partisan of
duc d'Orléans and his descendants (the
Duke of Guise
Count of Guise and Duke of Guise (pronounced ɥiz were titles in the French nobility.
Originally a seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou.
While disputed by the House of Luxembourg ...
, then
the Count of Paris), he dreamed of converting the ''Action française'', newly created by nationalist republicans, to the royalist ideal, and of gathering to him the remainder of traditional French royalty, exemplified by the
Marquis of la Tour du Pin or
General de Charette.
The synthesis between counter-revolutionary ideas and nationalism (but also positivism), triggered by the moral shock of the
war of 1870, which had turned some traditionalist forces towards the national idea and largely operated by the
Dreyfus affair
The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...
from 1898 onwards, was to find its apotheosis in ''Maurrassisme''. While there remained some non-''Maurrassiste'' political nationalist movements, such as the many
Jacobin expressions of nationalism and the universalist nationalism along the lines of
Péguy, counter-revolutionary politics was completely converted to ''Maurrassisme'' by 1911 after the consolidation of traditional royalist groups.
''Maurrassisisme'' was to give a second wind to counter-revolutionary ideas, which had been in decline since 1893 which saw Catholics drawn to the Republic. It was to promulgate these ideas beyond their traditionally counter-revolutionary regions, Catholic society and the aristocracy.
Personally an
agnostic until the final years of his life (at which time he converted to Catholicism), Maurras appreciated the social and historical role of the Catholic religion in French society, particularly its role as a federating force. His utilitarian vision of the Catholic Church as an institution serving the interest of national cohesion fostered a convergence between devout Catholics and those more distanced from the Church.
A major influence on the first half of the 20th century
The Maurrassist synthesis would develop into a school of thought in France, and indeed extend beyond French borders. Within France, ''Maurrassisme'' became a major influence in intellectual and student circles (in law and medical departments, etc.) in the 1910s and 1920s, reaching a peak in 1926 before the pope's condemnation. By way of example, the Maurrassist current had its attraction to the most diverse personalities, "from
Bernanos
Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...
to
Jacques Lacan, from
T.S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...
to
Georges Dumézil, from
Jacques Maritain to
Jacques Laurent, from
Thierry Maulnier
Thierry Maulnier (born Jacques Talagrand; 1 October 1909, Alès – 9 January 1988, Marnes-la-Coquette) was a French journalist, essayist, dramatist, and literary critic. He was married to theatre director Marcelle Tassencourt.
Early years
A ...
to
Gustave Thibon, up to
de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
".
Laurent Dandrieu, ''Valeurs actuelles'', 15 September 2006
''Maurrassisme'' was a particular source of inspiration for the ''Révolution nationale
The ''Révolution nationale'' (, ''National Revolution'') was the official ideological program promoted by the Vichy regime (the “French State”) which had been established in July 1940 and led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. Pétain's regime wa ...
'' of the Vichy regime
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
of 1940–1941, the regime de Antonio Salazar in Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and of Francisco Franco in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
The links of ''Maurrassisme'' with the regimes of Pétain, Franco and Salazar, the important role of antisemitism among Maurrassist activists, and the positions of certain Maurrassists at the time of the Second World War led to the discrediting of this current of thought, whose supporters had dwindled to a tiny minority in 1945. In France, its posterity can mainly be traced to the groups of officers opposed to the decolonization of Indochina and Algeria.
See also
* Camelots du Roi
* Integral Nationalism
Integral nationalism (french: nationalisme intégral) is a type of nationalism that originated in 19th-century France, was theorized by Charles Maurras and mainly expressed in the ultra-royalist circles of ''Action Française''. The doctrine is ...
* Sorelianism
References
Bibliography
* Pierre Boutang, ''Maurras, la destinée et l'œuvre'', ''La Différence'', 1991.
* François Huguenin, ''A l'école de l'Action française: un siècle de vie intellectuelle'', Editions J.-C. Lattès, 1998.
* Yves Chiron, ''La vie de Maurras'', Perrin, 1991.
* Stéphane Giocanti, ''Maurras félibre'', ''coll. des Amis de la Langue d'oc'', 1995.
* Michel Mourre, ''Charles Maurras'', éd. Universitaires, 1958.
* Jacques Paugam, ''L'Âge d'or du maurrassisme'', preface by Jean-Jacques Chevallier, Paris, Denoël, 1971.
* Claude Hauser & Catherine Pomeyrols (eds), ''L'Action française et l'étranger: usages, réseaux et représentations de la droite nationaliste française'', L'Harmattan, 2001,
External links
L'Empirisme organisateur
(site of the ''Restoration nationale'' movement)
{{Conservatism navbox
Political movements
Far-right politics in France
Action Française
National syndicalism
fr:Maurrassisme