The Groupe X-Crise (or ''X-Crise'') was a
French technocratic
Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...
movement created in 1931 as a consequence of the
1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the
Great Depression. Formed by former students of the
École Polytechnique
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
(nicknamed "X"), it advocated ''
planisme
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, pa ...
'', or economic planning, as opposed to the then dominant ideology of
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econo ...
which they held to have failed. Their ideas would not be put into practice until the
Vichy era, when many technocrats seized the opportunity to reconstruct France. However, many members of the group joined the
Resistance and opposed the Vichy regime, ultimately participating in the post-war administration.
Members
''X-Crise'' was founded by
Gérard Bardet and
André Loizillon, and its members included
Raymond Abellio
Georges Soulès (11 November 1907 – 26 August 1986), known by his pen name Raymond Abellio, was a French writer.
Life
Abellio went to the École Polytechnique and then took part in the X-Crise Group. He advocated far-left ideas, but like man ...
,
Louis Vallon,
Jean Coutrot
Jean Coutrot (27 March 1895 – 19 May 1941) was a French engineer.
He was one of the pioneers of the X-Crise group. In 1936, he founded with Center for Studies of Human Problems with Aldous Huxley and Alexis Carrel.
In June 1941, Coutrot's na ...
,
Jules Moch
Jules Salvador Moch (15 March 1893, in Paris – 1 August 1985, in Cabris, Alpes-Maritimes) was a French politician.
Biography
Moch was born into a renowned French Jewish military family, the son of Captain Gaston Moch and Rébecca Alice Po ...
and
Alfred Sauvy, who as head of the
INED demographic institute after World War II coined the term "
Third World
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
".
See also
*
Non-conformists of the 1930s
The non-conformists of the 1930s were groups and individuals during the inter-war period in France that were seeking new solutions to face the political, economical and social crisis. The name was coined in 1969 by the historian Jean-Louis Loubet ...
Bibliography
* Richard F. Kuisel (Spring 1970)
"The Legend of the Vichy Synarchy."''
French Historical Studies
''French Historical Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering French history. It publishes articles in English and French. The journal is published by Duke University Press on behalf of the Society for French Historical Stu ...
'', vol. 6, no. 3. pp. 365–398. .
* X-Crise (Centre polytechnicien d'études économiques), ''De la récurrence des crises économiques. Son cinquantenaire (1931-1981)''.
Economica
''Economica'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of generalist economics published on behalf of the London School of Economics by Wiley-Blackwell. Established in 1921, it is currently edited by Nava Ashraf, Oriana Bandiera, Tim Besley, France ...
(1982).
Contemporary French history
French Third Republic
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