Émile Jean-Marie Gautier (19 January 1853 – 1937) was a French

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

and later a journalist. He coined the term "

social Darwinism Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in We ...

Life

Émile Jean-Marie Gautier was born on January 19, 1853 in Rennes. His parents were Jean Marie Gautier, usher, and Marie Louise Marais. He obtained a doctorate in law. He became a disciple of

Jules Vallès Jules Vallès (11 June 1832 – 14 February 1885) was a French journalist, author, and left-wing political activist. Early life Vallès was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. His father was a supervisor of studies (''pion''), later a teac ...

. Gautier attended the Anarchist Congress that met in London from 14 July 1881. Other delegates included

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activist ...

Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (4 December 1853 – 22 July 1932) was an Italian anarchist propagandist and revolutionary socialist. He edited several radical newspapers and spent much of his life exiled and imprisoned, having been jailed and expelled from ...

Saverio Merlino Francesco Saverio Merlino (9 September 1856 – 30 June 1930) was an Italian lawyer, anarchist activist and theorist of libertarian socialism. Life Merlino was born on 9 September 1856 in Naples.Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and important figure in the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she embraced anarchism. When returning to France she emerged as an important French a ...

and Marie Le Compte. While respecting "complete autonomy of local groups" the congress defined propaganda actions that all could follow and agreed that "propaganda by the deed" was the path to social revolution. Gautier was implicated during the trial of

, and on 19 January 1883 was sentenced by the Criminal Court of Lyon to five years in prison. On 15 August 1885 he was pardoned. Gautier renounced political activism. He worked at various newspapers, including '' L'Écho de Paris'', where he met

Octave Mirbeau Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...

, and ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', where he published "documentary chronicles". These were published as a collection in 1992 under the title ''Les Étapes de la science'' (Steps of science). According to the historian of social thought Mike Hawkins, Emile Gautier was the first to use the term "

social darwinism Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in We ...

" in his pamphlet of the same name published in 1880 in Paris. He became a well-known popular science writer. His 1902 ''Fleur de Bagne'' (Prison flowers), written with his childhood friend Marie-François Goron, was an ancestor of techno-thrillers and crime dramas with science themes.

Quotation

"Prison as it is organized is a cesspool, pouring into society a steady stream of corruption and germs, physiological and moral contagion; it poisons, brutalizes and corrupts." ''The World of prisons'' (Lyon, 1889)

Bibliography

* ''Le Darwinisme social'' (1880 – Social Darwinism) * ''Étienne Marcel'' (Paris, 1881) * ''Propos anarchistes'' (1885 – About anarchists) * ''Le Parlementarisme'' (1885 – The Parliamentary System) * ''Heures de travail'' (1885 – Hours of work) * ''Les Endormeurs'' (1885 – The sleeper) * ''Le Monde des prisons'' (Lyon, 1889 – The world of prisons) * ''Fleurs de bagne'', with Marie-François Goron (1902 – Prison flowers) * ''Les Paysans'', with

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and important figure in the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she embraced anarchism. When returning to France she emerged as an important French a ...

(Paris, Incomplete)

References

Citations Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gautier, Emile 1853 births 1937 deaths French anarchists